Disqus - Latest Comments for The Gaffer

Re: Book Review: March of the Hooligans

The Gaffer — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 07:59:23 -0000

Joparo,

The EPL Talk Podcast will resume this weekend. We took a little break to take care of launching the redesigned EPL Talk website.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Goodbye, Lawrie Sanchez

The Gaffer — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 18:28:35 -0000

Millie,

The live chat will be back hopefully next week with a new format. We're adding lots of exciting new features to the website over the coming days/weeks. Thanks for your support and patience.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Shut Up, Rolando Bianchi!

The Gaffer — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 04:24:46 -0000

Wanderer Abroad,

Naah, Michael (MJ) wrote the article, not me - but I do agree that Bianchi is an idiot. My biggest pet peeve about the quotes is Bianchi's distaste for English food, which is a common stereotype but false one.

It's the same in America. If you judged fast food as American cuisine, you'd say that Italian food was superior, but there are tons of great restaurants in America that don't serve Italian food if you know where to look.

That's a whole other debate for another time. : )

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: ESPN Wants Premier League TV Rights

The Gaffer — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 04:28:44 -0000

Jason,

That's a great idea for a blog post. I'll write something up on that topic in the near future. Thanks for the suggestion.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Shut Up, Rolando Bianchi!

The Gaffer — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 09:14:05 -0000

Tracey,

I made the fix so all of the articles are now signed by the author who wrote them (immediately underneath the headline).

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Premier League Chat

The Gaffer — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 09:32:18 -0000

Those days are long gone. 2 Legit to Quit.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Best Week of the Year

The Gaffer — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 14:24:28 -0000

Wanderer,

Michael wrote that one (check under the headlines of each story to see the author) ; )

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Don’t Let Dave Kitson Ruin Your FA Cup Fever

The Gaffer — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 09:15:16 -0000

Working on it now. I hope to have it resumed shortly.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Don’t Let Dave Kitson Ruin Your FA Cup Fever

The Gaffer — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 10:00:42 -0000

Looks like the chat will be down today due to technical issues. Sorry.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Don’t Let Dave Kitson Ruin Your FA Cup Fever

The Gaffer — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 16:47:10 -0000

Hi Jackson,

For some reason, the chat went down today, but it's been working with no problems for the past couple of weeks.

Regarding the podcast, we released episode 98 earlier this week at http://www.epltalk.com/epl-talk-podcast-happy-n...

We'll be back with more interviews in the next couple of weeks. Just been taking a break over the hoiidays.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Road to Wembley: FA Cup 3rd Round Saturday Roundup

The Gaffer — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 08:10:43 -0000

The red card decision by Mark Halsey in yesterday's Ipswich against Portsmouth match was one of the worst refereeing mistakes I think I've ever seen.

It wasn't so much how wrong he got it, but the way in which he handled it where he seemed to talk to Trotter for a couple of minutes to warn him. It was almost as if Halsey was enjoying the power trip he was on when he then decided to brandish the red card to everyone's surprise.

Based on that performance, let's hope Halsey doesn't referee in the Premier League or Championship for a very long time.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Road to Wembley: FA Cup 3rd Round Saturday Roundup

The Gaffer — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 19:38:16 -0000

The Swansea match was pretty incredible with the Swans hitting the crossbar four times. On any other day, Swansea should have won three or four nil.

Leon Knight is a magical player with brilliant skill and a great penchant for scoring. Problem is that he's an immature lad who has a really bad attitude and could turn a side against themselves.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Winner of The Premiership In Focus Book

The Gaffer — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 19:06:58 -0000

I'm sending it out this week. Sorry Mark for the delay.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Premier League Poll of the Weekend

The Gaffer — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 20:05:58 -0000

Other than Man City's loss to Spurs on December 9th, the last time Man City lost away in the league was October 27. Quite a surprise.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Premier League Poll of the Weekend

The Gaffer — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 07:26:56 -0000

It's amazing how people get worked up by a simple poll question.

I thought another draw would have been on the cards.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Benitez’s Future In Doubt Due to Hicks Admittal

The Gaffer — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 06:30:04 -0000

Passing By,

I can point you to articles written by the major newspapers that contain spelling mistakes and they get paid significant amounts of money. For me, it's on a volunteer basis, so quit being so critical.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Why Hicks & Gillette Are Giving Americans A Bad Name

The Gaffer — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 12:41:19 -0000

Kartik, you know and I know that the US team has improved considerably since Copa America. But on the world's stage and in the mainstream within the UK, the last memory they have of seeing the US perform on TV was from Copa America.

Yes, it was a young team but the performances put on by the U.S. team during that tournament were, except for the first half of the game against Argentina, embarrassing.

Again, with Fulham, I'm writing this from the perspective of what the Brits think. They see Fulham as having the most Americans on their team and, as a result, will condemn the U.S. if the form of the club does poorly, as it is doing now.

Unfortunately, Hicks and Gillette -- in the eyes of Brits -- represent Americans as a whole (I know, it's stereotypical, but that's how some people think). All I'm saying is that they're giving Americans a bad name, which isn't fair because most American soccer fans know more than Hicks and Gillette combined.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Benitez’s Future In Doubt Due to Hicks Admittal

The Gaffer — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 17:29:27 -0000

Dave,

Naah, I wasn't aiming the criticism at you. It was aimed at Passing By. No worries :)

A good resource for what's on telly is http://www.livesoccertv.com/

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Why Hicks & Gillette Are Giving Americans A Bad Name

The Gaffer — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 13:16:51 -0000

My opinion is that Hicks and Gillette are giving Americans a bad name. And that they're creating too much negative publicity for Liverpool and, as a result, Americans in general.

I haven't read anything in the past week or two that has been an attack on Americans in the British press, so it's definitely my opinion.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: More Entertaining Off The Pitch Than On It

The Gaffer — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 21:13:02 -0000

Nice one cyril.

Of course it's not "his" videos. Sheesh.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Soccer America Miss The Ball with Gerard Houllier Interview

The Gaffer — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 23:33:23 -0000

I'm sorry gentlemen, but I disagree. Sure, Houllier knows a lot about the development of French soccer, but the questions they were asking him could have easily been answered by doing research ahead of time instead of wasting his time.

If they were doing an article on the French system, the choice of questions they asked were poor.

I wasn't expecting Soccer America to focus on EPL-related topics during the interview, but the whole world has been talking about Houllier and the will-he-or-won't-he regarding the Republic of Ireland and Newcastle. For Soccer America to gloss over that wreaks of poor journalism and the fear of asking hardball questions.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Soccer America Miss The Ball with Gerard Houllier Interview

The Gaffer — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 01:03:07 -0000

ASRW,

EPLTalk.com has double the amount of traffic that SoccerAmerica.com sees. Take a look at http://www.quantcast.com/socceramerica.com to see that Soccer America has 6,073 unique visitors a month. EPL Talk, in comparison, has 15,809.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Soccer America Miss The Ball with Gerard Houllier Interview

The Gaffer — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 16:36:42 -0000

I appreciate everyone giving their honest criticism and feedback. I welcome it (seriously).

I don't appreciate the personal attacks. None of those deserve a response.

But, sorry, I'm not going to apologize to the readers or Soccer America for purely stating my opinion. I mean no malice. I'm just sharing my views of what I saw.

Regarding the comment about another soccer network out there, I have no affiliation with them and do not plan to do so in the future.

Regarding my so-called euro snobbery and anti-American soccer viewpoints, I think it's ridiculous. I want the sport to succeed in this country more than anything.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Soccer America Miss The Ball with Gerard Houllier Interview

The Gaffer — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 19:26:50 -0000

For someone who is "passing by," you definitely spend a lot of time on this site. I did not "crash Soccer America's interview." I received permission from Adidas to interview Houllier and had every right to, so don't makee accusations unless you were there and saw something different.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Steve McClaren at the NSCAA Event

The Gaffer — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:23:48 -0000

Aye, it was meant as a compliment not a slap in the face.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: FA Cup and Premier League Chat

The Gaffer — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 09:24:50 -0000

Nah, the chat was only live yesterday, but not today Todd.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Fox Needs to Learn How to Pronounce ‘Premier League’

The Gaffer — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 20:53:58 -0000

I stand corrected. I checked the Merriam Webster dictionary and Americans do pronounce it differently.

The root of the word is Latin, but also features a bit of Anglo-French and Middle English.

And here I thought the Americans were mispronouncing it the whole time!

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Get Well Soon Gaffer!

The Gaffer — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 06:00:48 -0000

Thanks gents. I finally returned home from the hospital last night after being there for 10 grueling days. Thanks so much for your support. It means A LOT to me.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Manchester City Misses The Mark in Munich Tribute

The Gaffer — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:09:33 -0000

Come on lads. The entire tribute was a rousing success and was extremely well organized and honored by both Manchester City and United.

All I'm trying to do is explain how disappointed I was with Man City's choice of their retro strip.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Why Premier League’s Game 39 is Good for America

The Gaffer — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 18:20:14 -0000

Scout,

Good observation. What I mean by number three is that the British press will most probably be present to view the first game between the MLS sides so they'll be able to view a back-to-back comparison between how two MLS sides compare against each other and how two Premier League sides compare playing against each other.

I'm not suggesting that the MLS sides play any friendlies against the Premier League sides while they're here.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: The Treble Find a New Home

The Gaffer — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 19:32:54 -0000

The EPL Talk Podcasts are still being produced... just not as frequently as they were before. We released episode 100, the Best Of episode last week, and intend on releasing an episode next week featuring an interview with Paul Gardner from Soccer America.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: I’m on Setanta: Jose’s Big Signing

The Gaffer — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:54:08 -0000

Fan-tastic!

Re: Chat Live with Soccer Fans Around the World This Weekend

The Gaffer — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 10:54:07 -0000

Now fixed and updated. Thanks for pointing that one out.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Do stats tell the story?

The Gaffer — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 19:07:37 -0000

The Scout,

One really fascinating site I came cross recently is http://www.football-lineups.com/

It keeps track of team's formations and tactics, which I find quite interesting. It's not stats, but it's somewhat related.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: New Arsenal 08/09 Shirts Revealed

The Gaffer — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:35:52 -0000

Alex,

You're talking nonsense. I don't earn one cent/penny for any shirts sold from that site. I don't earn any percentage.

Football Shirts has routinely unveiled new designs ahead of other sites out there. Sometimes the photos end up being fakes, but more often than not they end up being the real ones.

What proof do you have that these are fakes?

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: New Arsenal 08/09 Shirts Revealed

The Gaffer — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 19:16:23 -0000

Cazza,

If these are the new shirts, the earliest they'll be released to the public is the end of May, but more likely in June or July.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Newest Episode of I’m On Setanta Sports

The Gaffer — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 13:49:47 -0000

Thanks for the tip Alex. I added the Afghanistan version to the bottom of this post.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Spurs 4-4 Chelsea: Why Setanta Needs Cable TV

The Gaffer — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 05:25:32 -0000

Leeban,

You're incorrect. Fox Soccer Channel had won the TV licensing rights to show Premier League matches in the United States. However, it was Fox's decision to sub-license a significant portion of the top matches to Setanta.

That is why Setanta has the first choice on Saturday morning, the early game on Sunday, the game on Monday and first choice of the mid-week matches.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Spurs 4-4 Chelsea: Why Setanta Needs Cable TV

The Gaffer — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 10:46:07 -0000

Dave,

Great question about who the pressure points should be/are. It's definitely the cable networks. Setanta Sports has been fighting hard to get its channel(s) on the cable networks such as Time Warner and Verizon Wireless.

Unfortunately it takes a lot of time and negotiating.

Your best bet is to contact your local cable company and ask how you can request/demand a specific cable station that isn't carried on the current lineup.

The more feedback the cable companies receive, the better.

I'm hoping that by this summer we may see some major cable carriers starting to add Setanta Sports. Fingers crossed.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: BBC Sport Blocks Video Interviews for Overseas Visitors

The Gaffer — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 08:37:25 -0000

eplnfl,

Regarding the Universal-NBC joint venture, I believe that site is didja.com which isn't live yet. But Universal has a website that launched as a joint venture with News Corporation called hulu.com

Unfortunately the content on that site is only viewable by people in the USA, not overseas.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Joost to Offer Premier League Highlights Via Internet

The Gaffer — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:27:17 -0000

I believe it starts in August, in time for next season.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Man United Leads the Premier League in Average Attendance

The Gaffer — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 12:41:00 -0000

Ringo,

Actually the team that plays to the most number of empty seats this season is currently Bolton Wanderers.

I'll post a follow-up article tomorrow showing the top 20 teams according to average attendance as a percentage of their capacity.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Man United Leads the Premier League in Average Attendance

The Gaffer — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:11:06 -0000

Anyone who is a friend of Bobby McMahon is a friend of mine. The man is a legend that needs his own show on Fox.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Man United Leads the Premier League in Average Attendance

The Gaffer — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:23:08 -0000

Kat Kid,

Good question.

Many of the stadiums in the Premier League are built in areas where there's no more room to expand (i.e. the neighborhoods around the grounds butt up against all four sides of the stadiums).

For example, that's why clubs such as Liverpool, Portsmouth, Spurs, West Ham, Chelsea and Everton are all in the process of moving (or looking at moving) to a new location so they can build brand-new stadiums with acres of space for parking and bigger grounds.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Man United Leads the Premier League in Average Attendance

The Gaffer — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:31:17 -0000

Dragon,

The answer will be revealed tomorrow (from the best to the worst). I think you already know the answer : )

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Top 20 Best Supported Clubs in the Premier League | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 12:19:40 -0000

http://www.epltalk.com/0708-ticket-prices-for-p...

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Top 20 Best Supported Clubs in the Premier League | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:49:49 -0000

Here's the final stat. I don't want to turn this into an anorak blog after all : )

The following research shows what clubs have the noisiest fans in the Premier League. Not surprisingly, Arsenal and Man United appear near the foot of this table, but the first place club may surprise you.

Enjoy.

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/26102007/58/premi...

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Top 20 Best Supported Clubs in the Premier League | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:15:13 -0000

Good catch about Jack Walker. I mixed up a sinner as a saint. It's now fixed.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Premier League and Major League Soccer Sign Exclusive Agreement

The Gaffer — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 08:06:51 -0000

The gig is up. Yep, it was an April fools joke. But I wouldn't be totally surprised if something like this happened in the future.

Kartik raised a good point about the Mexican teams playing a aimilar tournament, but if MLS wants to expand its audience beyond the Latinos and into white suburbia, the Premier League teams could be their ticket.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Full-Time Thoughts–Arsenal vs. Liverpool

The Gaffer — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 21:02:11 -0000

I'm with Michael on this one. I thought it was clearly not a penalty. If you watch the replay, you see Hleb looking into the eyes of the referee as he falls and turns around on the field.

It reminded me of Ronaldo's dives from last season where he managed to dive through the air while looking into the ref's eyes asking for the call to be made.

Hleb was touched on his arm by Kuyt, but for the ref to call that a penalty would have been a cheap call.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Full-Time Thoughts–Arsenal vs. Liverpool

The Gaffer — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 07:54:32 -0000

Alex,

If Arseblog.com links to me, I'll link to them. That's the deal.

"Premier League Talk" instead of "EPL Talk" is OK, but the big problem is that premierleaguetalk.com is already taken.

We've been epltalk.com since November, 2005 - so we've already built a pretty good brand and name recognition since then. To change now would be fruitless.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Reading’s 3-0 Loss to Newcastle Exposes Weaknesses

The Gaffer — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 21:48:31 -0000

Dave,

Jimmy Bullard would be a fantastic purchase for Reading. I've read that Jimmy has told Fulham fans that he plans on staying with the club even if/when they get relegated to the Championship.

But why stop at Reading? I could see Bullard shining at Liverpool, Blackburn and many other Prem sides.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: The Future of Premier League Goal Highlights on the Internet

The Gaffer — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 12:12:21 -0000

Scout,

Yep, the BBC had something similar (they may still have it on their site, but I haven't seen it recently). However, the graphics and ease-of-use plus the commentary from The Telegraph version are far superior than what the BBC mustered.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Middlesbrough v Manchester United: Live and Online

The Gaffer — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 18:30:30 -0000

It's legal.

However, ff the companies that own the internet audio rights to these games found out, I'm sure the Premier League would get an earful of complaints.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Manager of the Year

The Gaffer — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 22:29:55 -0000

My vote is for Alex Ferguson. Despite a team loaded with stars, it takes a ton of motivation and man-management skills to continue getting the most out of his players.

Sure, Fergie is spoiled with talent but he continues to build award-winning teams year-after-year.

Contrast his fortunes with the relative failures at Barcelona and Liverpool, two teams that come undone in different ways this season, while Man United has motored along rarely missing a beat.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Cardiff City Should Be Allowed into the UEFA Cup

The Gaffer — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:14:33 -0000

Michael,

Just one correction. When you said that "They don’t compete in any Welsh competitions and haven’t for a while," that's incorrect.

Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham - despite playing in the English league - all play in the Welsh Cup against teams from Wales such as Llanelli, Rhyl, Carmarthen and others.

The problem is that even if Cardiff, Swansea or Wrexham wins the Welsh Cup (a knock out tournament similar to the FA Cup), the Welsh FA doesn't allow them to play in UEFA competitions because they play their league football in England.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Why the Premier League Can Only Get Bigger in the U.S. | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:22:53 -0000

Kartik,

Thanks for the detailed response. Despite your valid response, I still feel the Premier League -- as the top soccer league in the world -- has room to grow in the country.

Yes, the Latin population that are into soccer don't care, for the most part, about the Prem. But I feel there's definitely plenty of room for both the Premier League and Mexican league in the United States.

While Major League Soccer will continue to grow in this country, it still doesn't have teams that are in the local vicinities of many major cities. For those people, myself included, we can tune into television to watch the best soccer there is to offer, the EPL.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Full-Time Thoughts–Liverpool vs. Arsenal (Second Leg)

The Gaffer — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 12:57:05 -0000

Mr anonymous,

We're all entitled to our own opinions, and Michael (as with the other writers on the site) all bring their own ideas and thoughts.

Sorry to have ruined your holiday (exactly how we did that, I'm not sure), but the EPL Talk site today is far more popular than it has ever been (in terms of traffic). This past month has been a record breaking month.

You're free to visit other sites if you don't like the content.

As for the podcasts, I've taken a pause from them for now. Thanks for your interest.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Questions to Consider After Man United’s 1-0 Roma Win

The Gaffer — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:46:13 -0000

Kartik,

Come on! Even Bolton, third from bottom in the Premier League, tied 2-2 with the mighty Bayern Munich this year in the UEFA Cup.

Bolton then knocked Atletico Madrid out of the tournament, and also beat Sporting Braga with a B-side.

Bolton would have fielded their first side against Sporting except that it wanted to concentrate on the more lucrative Premier League than UEFA Cup.

The UEFA Cup, for the most part, is a joke. Few English teams treat it seriously because they know they can make more money in the Premier League (thus survival in the Prem is more important than winning the UEFA Cup).

Yes, Derby is crap. But Derby aside, even the clubs lower in the Prem would have a decent chance of beating even the better German sides.

Schalke, who are second place in the Bundesliga, was awful in the matches against Barcelona. Their shooting skills were exceedingly poor.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Questions to Consider After Man United’s 1-0 Roma Win

The Gaffer — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:46:54 -0000

* oops, I meant to say that "Bolton almost beat Sporting Braga with a B-side" not "beat."

Re: Man Utd Could be Crowned Champions at Stamford Bridge

The Gaffer — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:07:20 -0000

Thanks for catching that Brian <blush>.

Cheers,
The Gaffer</blush>

Re: EPL Talk Podcast Returns: More Interviews On The Way

The Gaffer — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:42:42 -0000

Thanks everyone for the kind comments and also the recommendation of who to interview. I'll add them to my target list.

Some of them have already been interviewed in the past by the EPL Talk Podcast such as Keith Costigan, Max Bretos and Bobby McMahon.

You can find those interviews on iTunes or on the EPL Talk Podcast page (use the search function on the right sidebar) at http://epltalk.libsyn.com

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Spurs to Unveil New 08/09 Shirts on May 6

The Gaffer — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:47:15 -0000

Superspurs,

The article you linked to doesn't mention anything about Puma, but I did some additional research and found that they are in a five year deal, so I've updated the article to reflect this.

Thanks for the tip.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: If Only Home Supporters Could Behave Like Away Fans

The Gaffer — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 20:26:15 -0000

Todd,

I asked Jim White a similar question today, so you'll be able to hear his answer when the podcast episode is released in the next 2-3 weeks.

Thanks for posting your questions. I managed to ask one or two of yours!

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Liverpool v Chelsea Preview: Bring Your Own Stick | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 20:36:35 -0000

The predictions were correct. The match was pretty dreadful to watch. To me, it was a comedy of errors. Everything from Frank Lampard giving the ball away that led to Dirk Kuyt's goal. And, of course, Riise's own goal.

Goals aside, both sides were guilty of so many mistakes. Not a good advertisement for English football, but we're not really surprised.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Halftime Thoughts–Liverpool vs. Chelsea

The Gaffer — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 20:38:54 -0000

Clynnnog,

I missed Derek Rae, too. But Robbie Mustoe was pretty awful as a co-commentator. Many of his comments stated the obvious throughout the match.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Questions Please for Tim Vickery, Jim White and David Conn Interviews

The Gaffer — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:50:17 -0000

Thanks for the questions for Jim White. That interview is now completed. There's still time to post your questions/comments for Tim Vickery and David Conn, though.

The Jim White interview will be released within the next few weeks.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Questions Please for Tim Vickery, Jim White and David Conn Interviews

The Gaffer — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 10:14:27 -0000

Paul R,

We've already interviewed Bobby McMahon back in 2006 -- http://epltalk.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=92858

I have no interest in interviewing Kenny Hassan, but thanks for the recommendation.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Check Out the Center Circle at the Camp Nou | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:31:38 -0000

I didn't notice it at first, but when you pointed it out, I couldn't take my eyes off it. Yes, one of the most bizarre centre circles I've ever seen!

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Top 10 Sources for Intelligent Football Coverage

The Gaffer — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:49:30 -0000

Alex,

The Guardian is one of my favorite newspapers to read, but in the list I created, I'm trying to identify specific writers. It's too easy to say just "The Guardian," but it's a lot harder to pick someone who regularly writes intelligent articles that help soccer fans learn something.

442 is a good magazine, but it's more commercialized than World Soccer.

Phil,

I considered David Pleat, but his TV commentary is awful at times which makes me question his analysis that he writes in his newspaper column for The Guardian.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Spurs Beats Newcastle, Arsenal and Chelsea to Land £20 Million Star Midfielder Luka Modric

The Gaffer — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 23:24:47 -0000

Czar,

Yes, Spurs knows how to spend more money than the other teams.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Spurs Beats Newcastle, Arsenal and Chelsea to Land £20 Million Star Midfielder Luka Modric

The Gaffer — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 23:50:41 -0000

Me,

Click on the bloody links!

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Manchester United 4-1 West Ham United: 90 Minutes Away from the Title

The Gaffer — Sat, 03 May 2008 11:25:06 -0000

Jonathan,

You're correct. What I meant to say is that Chelsea draws against Newcastle United, that they'll have to hope that Wigan beats Man U on the last day of the season. It's doubtful that Wigan could win, but you're absolutely correct.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: U.S. TV Schedule for Final Day of Premier League 07/08 Season

The Gaffer — Tue, 06 May 2008 20:55:42 -0000

My predictions came true. Fox Soccer Channel selected the matches I thought they would, while I came very close with my predictions for what Setanta would show (they threw me off by not using Setanta Xtra).

See the schedule here:
http://www.epltalk.com/us-tv-coverage-wigan-man...

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: New 08/09 Liverpool Away Shirt Revealed

The Gaffer — Wed, 07 May 2008 12:47:51 -0000

Weller,

Both gray and grey are correct. Look it up in a dictionary.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Chelsea’s Blue Revolution Coming to Fox Soccer Channel

The Gaffer — Wed, 07 May 2008 22:30:49 -0000

Andy,

Not sure. I checked their TV schedule for this week and next week, and the show is not scheduled to air during those times. Knowing Fox, it'll be on again.

CFTV,

I agree. There's so much good programming out there, but it comes down to money and how much FSC is willing to fork out for older videos. Unfortunately I don't see European clubs giving Fox a deal. The European clubs are just as money grubbing as their U.S. counterparts.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Everton Searches for Sponsor to Acquire Naming Rights to New Stadium

The Gaffer — Thu, 08 May 2008 07:06:48 -0000

James,

Yes, it would be 4.5 million GBP per season.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Win Tickets to The Cesc Fabregas Show | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Sun, 11 May 2008 08:59:17 -0000

Congratulations to winners Milo Hewitt and Tania Malique. Both of them will be attending The Cesc Fabregas Show on Tuesday night courtesy of EPL Talk and Nike.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Manchester United Wins the League As Predicted

The Gaffer — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:05:16 -0000

Dan,

Here's an interesting article from The Telegraph this afternoon that talks about how the gap between the rich and the less rich clubs in the Premier League is narrowing:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml...

My personal opinion is that you get what you pay for. If clubs finish near the top, they should make more money than those at the bottom. Why reward the bottom teams if they're not that good?

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Most Visited Football Web Sites in the UK

The Gaffer — Tue, 13 May 2008 07:35:01 -0000

Li,

The percentages are how much of the entire market share of football web site traffic that site has. Yes, these are the official sites.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Responses to Your EPL Talk Feedback

The Gaffer — Tue, 13 May 2008 07:36:27 -0000

Damir,

Adding the functionality to allow the content to open up on the homepage and then push the rest of the content down to allow space for that can be done, but I would need the help of a professional programmer to do it. It's better to just go ahead and display the copy on the homepage as-is.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Which Reading, Birmingham & Derby Players Would You Rescue From The Drop?

The Gaffer — Wed, 14 May 2008 09:28:50 -0000

Readers,

It's one thing to say that you would add so-and-so to the list, but who would you remove in his place to make the starting eleven?

Trust me, coming up with quality defenders from Reading, Derby and Birmingham City wasn't easy. Murty, Stubbs, Shorey and Ridgewell were four of the best I saw, which is a pretty sad reflection of those three teams really.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: How ESPN Would Change The Face of Premier League Coverage On U.S. TV

The Gaffer — Fri, 16 May 2008 17:22:49 -0000

Anonymous,

Good heavens. Someone seems a bit defensive and has a severe lack of humor.

It's a bloody joke. I'm not making predictions. I'm just trying to paint a picture. Arsene Wenger is a brilliant manager, but it doesn't mean he's going to be at Arsenal forever.

Not sure why you've got your knickers in a twist. I don't plagiarize. Often I do my own interviews with people to get the news direct from the source (such as Setanta Sports and Fox Soccer), so if you think I plagiarize, prove it -- otherwise don't make accusations when you have no evidence.

If I do use sources for my articles, I attribute them to the source nine times out of ten (take the pictures of the football shirts, for example).

Lastly, I don't claim EPL Talk to be the best in the world, so stop making stuff up.

Geez.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: How ESPN Would Change The Face of Premier League Coverage On U.S. TV

The Gaffer — Sat, 17 May 2008 03:54:57 -0000

Richard,

I can't see Fox Soccer Channel being able to outbid ESPN for the TV rights, which will be up for bidding before the 2009/2010 season. The rights are getting more and more expensive. If anything, I see Fox having less Premier League coverage in the future rather than more. And I don't see them taking Prem games off Setanta and putting them on FSC. This is purely conjecture, so I may be wrong.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: How ESPN Would Change The Face of Premier League Coverage On U.S. TV

The Gaffer — Sat, 17 May 2008 17:26:25 -0000

Hi Richard,

Good responses. I can't vouch for ESPN, so it's possible that they could do worse, but the most important thing about that network is the penetration they have in U.S. homes. Setanta fights a constant battle to get on cable systems. With ESPN, the Premier League could be more mainstream overnight.

Even though Rupert Murdoch owns Sky Sports and Fox Soccer, that doesn't have any relevance or give him an advantage in the States. When the EPL TV rights are up for bidding in the U.S., the winner is the one who offers the most money.

Fox Soccer Channel is known for having very tight budgets. With the rising price of Premiership TV rights, the only way they could afford to have them (as well as the other leagues such as Serie A, MLS, etc) is to have sub-license the content to Setanta. That's a main reason why Setanta picked up Monday's 3pm ET slot from Fox, I believe.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Raul Axed by Spain

The Gaffer — Sun, 18 May 2008 09:38:49 -0000

Burt,

We're gearing up for Euro 2008. Between now and the end of June, we'll have plenty of Premier League coverage but also news and analysis of Euro 2008.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Champions League Final TV Schedule: UK, US and India

The Gaffer — Tue, 20 May 2008 23:42:48 -0000

Betsy,

While I don't have the stats in front of me, the site does get quite a lot of traffic from India. Maybe Kartik is hitting refresh on his browser to inflate the numbers? ; )

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Champions League Final Live Audio Commentary Online

The Gaffer — Wed, 21 May 2008 14:22:32 -0000

Definitely the busiest day for EPLTalk.com ever with more traffic today than ever before. So much traffic, in fact, that it crashed the site for 30 minutes but everything is back up and running now. Phew!

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Fulham Would Be Mad Not To Visit America This Summer

The Gaffer — Fri, 23 May 2008 19:29:17 -0000

Touche, Amanda. Great follow up article. Fellow EPL Talk readers should check out her web site at http://www.amandavandervort.com/ for some great articles including a fascinating interview with Emma Hayes.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Top 10 Most Visited Soccer Websites in the USA | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Mon, 26 May 2008 08:56:14 -0000

Bob,

I don't have monthly pageviews readily available, but I have some tools that can provide that information. Jot me at a note at thegaffer[at]epltalk[dot]com if you want to chat more.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Frank Lampard To Inter Milan? The Daily Express Walks A Fine Line

The Gaffer — Mon, 26 May 2008 09:41:08 -0000

One week later and I'm still waiting for Frank Lampard to announce that he's signed for Inter Milan. After all, The Daily Express said it was true and they're never wrong, right?! ; )

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: GolTV to Broadcast Germany v England Friendly on U.S. TV

The Gaffer — Tue, 27 May 2008 20:20:21 -0000

M,

The game will be broadcast on ESPN Classic at 3pm ET. See http://www.epltalk.com/england-usa-friendly-on-... for more details.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Euro ‘08 Preview–Group B

The Gaffer — Tue, 27 May 2008 20:48:39 -0000

Dave and Michael,

Not sure why the Group A story is generating a 404 error and won't allow comments. Must be the spirits in the material world (reminds me of a song by The Police)!

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Euro ‘08 Preview–Group B

The Gaffer — Tue, 27 May 2008 21:54:20 -0000

Kartik,

I mean this in the nicest way possible, but you're nuts!

The host country (or two, in this case) always does better than most people imagine especially with the home field advantage.

Venezuela did better than most people expected in Copa America, just as one recent example.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: US Soccer Federation Open to Hosting FA Community Shield, And Maybe the 39th Game | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Wed, 28 May 2008 02:29:46 -0000

Jeff,

Very interesting article. The FA must be thinking that they can use the Community Shield as a bargaining chip with the USSF. "Allow us to win the bid for World Cup 2018 and you can host the Community Shield in the U.S. for a couple of years."

Hopefully the USSF won't be so stupid to do that.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: England vs USA: Why Americans Hate English Football Supporters

The Gaffer — Wed, 28 May 2008 13:51:04 -0000

Sam,

I'm Welsh, so I hope that the USA wins tonight.

Jessie,

Good catch! I'll fix that now.

All,

As you can tell, I'm not a big fan of NFL football :)

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Sky Sports Commentator Andy Gray Joins ESPN Euro 08 Broadcast Team | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Thu, 29 May 2008 04:54:11 -0000

This is a MASSIVE coup for ESPN. It shows they're serious about soccer and are trying to be taken seriously. Kudos to ESPN.

I can't wait to see Andy Gray!

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: How England Or The United States Can Win The 2018 World Cup Bid

The Gaffer — Thu, 29 May 2008 06:19:35 -0000

Ant,

The 1994 World Cup was the most successful in history based on the highest overall attendance for the tournament. And that was when there were 24 teams, not 32.

There are a ton of pundits worldwide (many of them in the UK) who have proclaimed WC94 as the most successful WC. It was well organized and successfully run.

Looks like FIFA has scrapped the rotation policy.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Release Dates For 08/09 Premier League Shirts

The Gaffer — Thu, 29 May 2008 10:41:55 -0000

Dave,

It's just a fun picture of beautiful women wearing alternative soccer outfits.

The average audience for EPL Talk is male, aged 18-34. I don't see any harm in having the picture on the site. You can see a lot worse on your local beach.

Your son can keep on coming back. No worries. I won't publish any nudity :)

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: How England Or The United States Can Win The 2018 World Cup Bid

The Gaffer — Thu, 29 May 2008 11:42:55 -0000

Kat Kid,

Yes, seriously!

Both England and the United States -- separately -- will launch very aggressive and convincing bids. It'll probably end up like Hilary vs Obama. Two great candidates, but they're doing the Democrat party a disservice by focusing so much of their energies on trying to win the bid, when someone like McCain (i.e. Russia or China) may sneak up behind them and win the whole thing.

England and the United States would be stronger if they submitted a joint bid. And I don't see the US or England getting the WC in 2018 and then the loser of those two getting the 2022 WC.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Steven Gerrard’s Goal Against The USA

The Gaffer — Thu, 29 May 2008 22:13:53 -0000

The language spoken in the Ched Evans clip is Welsh, my native tongue (or at least it used to be).

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Dunne and Dos Santos to join Ramos’ White Hart Lane Revolution

The Gaffer — Sat, 31 May 2008 10:11:42 -0000

Moose,

EPL Talk's Euro 2008 fantasy football competition has now launched. More info at http://www.epltalk.com/join-epl-talks-euro-08-f...

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: EPL Talk Ranked Second Most Valuable Soccer Blog

The Gaffer — Sat, 31 May 2008 19:39:07 -0000

Good point Kevin. Factoring all of the EPL Talk network sites together, the total value is $682,025

If Serie A Talk had been included in the top 100, it would have been number 67.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: TV Schedule for European Championship Matches On ESPN Classic

The Gaffer — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 07:06:48 -0000

No reruns unfortunately.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: ESPN announces Euro 2008 broadcast schedule

The Gaffer — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:51:46 -0000

Terre,

Most of the matches will be on ESPN2.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Fulham Unveils New 08/09 Home Shirt

The Gaffer — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:53:02 -0000

Alex,

Check with Subside Sports, the official kit supplier for EPL Talk, at http://www.subside.us.com

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: It’s Official (Finally): Setanta Sports USA Launching On Verizon FiOS In July

The Gaffer — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 20:18:25 -0000

It's great news for Verizon FIOS customers but that's about it. Unfortunately Verizon's service isn't available in most areas of the country. A call to their customer service line says they have no idea when it'll be added to my area, for example.

Still, every little bit counts, but we're still waiting for the big one -- having Setanta added to the cable heavyweights Comcast and Time Warner.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: 2006 Predictions, Part One

The Gaffer — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 10:20:00 -0000

Sorry about the comments being linked with the wrong story. I figured out the bug but won't be able to fix it for this story (but it'll fixed for other ones).

Feel free to contribute your ideas of who you think will shine in Euro 2008. Great stuff. Good point Lonnie about Sneijder's killer right foot.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Euro 2008 Group A Match Predictions

The Gaffer — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 14:09:51 -0000

Just watched Switzerland v Czech Republic on TV at Newark Airport (thank goodness for the Samuel Adams bar). Poor 1st half; 2nd much better.

I agree that Switzerland deserved a draw especially after having two appeals for a penalty denied. Not sure how the ref missed those handball incidents!

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Euro 2008 Group A Match Predictions

The Gaffer — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 14:46:28 -0000

Didn't take long for Foudy to lose credibility with me today. Within the first few minutes of her appearance behind the desk at ESPN, she said that the player to watch out for in this tournament is Thierry Henry.

She may prove me wrong, but Henry is nowhere near the best that he was a few years ago. I don't envision Henry making much of an impression this tournament.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Video Highlights of Pepe’s Goal For Portugal Against Turkey

The Gaffer — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 17:46:56 -0000

Sanjay,

Good catch. I've made the edit in the article. With a strike like that, maybe he should change to being a striker? ; )

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Swiss Show The World How To Run A Football Tournament | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:40:26 -0000

Dignan,

Free train trips from city to city, yes. I love the Swiss!

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Euro 2008: How Seeing A Football Match On TV Can Be Better Than Seeing It In Person | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:12:12 -0000

Miami FC? You've got to be joking.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: New Arsenal 08/09 Shirts Revealed

The Gaffer — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 05:40:03 -0000

Looks like these shirts aren't fakes after all.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Euro 2008: How Seeing A Football Match On TV Can Be Better Than Seeing It In Person | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 08:29:45 -0000

Marco,

The section where I was sitting in the stadium was definitely more quiet and timid than other sections, but I had no choice where my seats were. They were free tickets courtesy of EPL Talk's sponsors, Castrol Oil.

In fact, the atmosphere in the pub where I watched the Spain vs Sweden game yesterday was probably wilder than the 20 people who sat around me. At least in the pub there was singing, people getting out of their seats, etc. My section at the ground was very quiet.

Even the crazy sections behind each goal didn't go berserk, though, when goals went in.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: The Pleasure Of Watching Spain v Sweden In An Irish Pub

The Gaffer — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 10:22:57 -0000

Sanjay:

Sure I do. Name a few games from the opening round of Copa America 2007 that were better than Holland v Italy, Spain v Sweden, Holland v France, Croatia v Germany and Italy v Romania.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: The Daily Telegraph Goes Back To The Future

The Gaffer — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:28:18 -0000

The Daily Telegraph has now caught their mistake and fixed their headline. 2008 is definitely better than 20008.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Euro 2008 Coverage By Sky Sports Is Pathetic | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 23:02:02 -0000

Fair play to Fox Soccer Report. On the same night that I wrote the article about the pathetic coverage by Sky Sports, the first 20 minutes of Fox Soccer Report had news and highlights from Euro 2008.

That's pretty sad when Fox Soccer Report outdoes Sky Sports.

If you haven't watched Fox Soccer Report lately, I recommend you do for one major reason: the highlights from Euro 2008 feature the commentators from England, so it's nice to hear Steve Banyard and company commentating on the game.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Group C Final Match Preview and Predictions

The Gaffer — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:03:07 -0000

I agree with Paul. There are so many Italian people who have emigrated around the world that they and their generations still have deep roots to Italy.

London has a lot of Italians and even has a Little Italy section, just as one example.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: A Letter to Toby Charles

The Gaffer — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 20:23:29 -0000

Here's a letter from someone who emailed me to share their appreciation for the Toby Charles interview:

I just wanted to commend you for finding the legendary commentator Toby Charles. I'd never heard of your program but I managed to find your interview by Googling Toby Charles. Like you and so many other fans out there who grew up with soccer in the 70's in the USA, Toby Charles and Soccer Made in Germany was one of the best doorways into the Beautiful Game on an international level. I learned all the players and exotic sounding cities as a young boy and it fueled my thirst for international travel for the rest of my life. I must thank Toby Charles for being such an entertaining and educational commentator. There's no doubt that the success of SMIG was due in no small part to his lively and colorful entertainment ("and it's in the net!").

As a 45 year old soccer fan who still goes to LA Galaxy games to watch David Beckham, I thank you so much for tracking down this legend and allowing us fans to hear his voice again 30 years later. Nobody says "Borussia Moenchengladbach" the way he does!

Gratefully yours,

Larry Cho

Re: ESPN2 Sees 64% Increase in Households For Euro ‘08 Over Network Average | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:33:17 -0000

That's great news about ESPN's ratings. My concern for ABC is that since it's a one-off game, other than the final, that there's little chance of hype or suspense being built up to help the network can large ratings on Saturday.

The other thing is that I totally forgot it was going to be on ABC instead of ESPN this weekend. I wonder how many other people will do that after getting so used to taping the games on ESPN networks?

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Share Your Thoughts On How To Make EPL Talk More Interactive

The Gaffer — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:41:01 -0000

Bendi and eplnfl,

Thanks for your suggestions. I appreciate you taking time to share your thoughts. I'll definitely consider Ning. Hadn't thought about that.

A TV show would be great but it's hard to nail down a specific time (not just for me, but also for the viewers/readers). The great thing about blogging is that it's easier to do timeshifting - where it doesn't have to be live.

Let me see what I can cook up from the ideas that everyone presented.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: ESPN announces Euro 2008 broadcast schedule

The Gaffer — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:57:21 -0000

Iceman,

Yes the match will be on ABC. No need for cable on this one. Spread the word.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Win An EPL Talk T-Shirt

The Gaffer — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 10:17:14 -0000

Anonymous,

Good catch. Yes the T-shirt reads "For Hardcore Soccer Nuts Only"

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: EPL Talk Gets Behind Holland!

The Gaffer — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 18:58:27 -0000

Good catch Phil. You read my mind.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Euro 2008 Fantasy Football League Table | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 06:29:35 -0000

It's 20198-4224

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: New 08/09 Newcastle United Away Shirt

The Gaffer — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 17:47:14 -0000

I saw another picture of the shirt elsewhere and it's definitely purple, not blue. Expect quite a few Barney The Dinosaur jokes aimed at the Toon this upcoming season.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: The Thin Line Between Euro 2008 Winners And Losers

The Gaffer — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 05:44:39 -0000

Django:

It was definitely inspired by it. I read in his article a few days ago how he thought the Dutch were uninspiring and had finally been found out, but I couldn't disagree more.

There was such a thin line between Holland winning and losing this past Saturday. If they had taken just one or two of their golden opportunities, everyone who have been extolling how wonderful the Dutch were. But having lost, everyone is saying "I told you so."

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: New 08/09 Hull City Away Shirt Revealed

The Gaffer — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 05:47:11 -0000

WorthingTiger:

Sorry, but this is the first time I'm seeing it.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Spain And Italy’s Bore Draw Gives Soccer A Bad Name

The Gaffer — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 05:50:34 -0000

Wanderer Abroad.

Spain definitely used the flanks. One minute after Torres was substituted, Guiza received the ball from a left wing cross in the middle of the box but used his hands to bring down the ball.

This was the first time one of those crosses from the left actually ended up getting to a Spaniard. All of the previous ones were headed away by the towering Italians.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Spain And Italy’s Bore Draw Gives Soccer A Bad Name

The Gaffer — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 07:30:51 -0000

Pablo,

The game will be on ABC, which is a local free channel that you'll be able to find on your hotel TV.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: New 08/09 Sunderland Away Shirt: Photo

The Gaffer — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:58:24 -0000

Good catch mate. Now fixed.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: 5 Reasons Why The European Football Championship Is Better Than The World Cup

The Gaffer — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:04:26 -0000

Kartik,

We covered Copa America pretty extensively on this site last summer. Not as much as Euro 2008, but this is a blog that's centered around European football, i.e. the Premier League.

I enjoyed Copa America last summer. They were some cracking good games but overall I've been more impressed by what I've seen in Switzerland and Austria this summer.

As Simon pointed out previously, Copa America didn't even feature A teams for several countries, so how can that tournament be better than this one?

At the end of the day, it's all soccer, so I love it.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: New 08/09 Wigan Athletic Home Shirt

The Gaffer — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:08:40 -0000

The Champion bras and underwear can be found at http://www.championusa.com/

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: New 08/09 Liverpool Third Shirt: New Picture | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 04:43:24 -0000

Why would Liverpool wear blue? Anyway, here's another picture of it, which still looks green to me:

http://www.football-shirts.co.uk/images/0809/li...

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Latest Soccer News From Around The World

The Gaffer — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:31:54 -0000

Thanks for pointing that out Lonnie. Readers, there are several excellent articles about continental European football at http://www.championsleaguetalk.com

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Latest Soccer News From Around The World

The Gaffer — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:17:48 -0000

Ikissfootball,

Thanks for your compliments. While I appreciate your feedback, I think it's constructive to have different opinions on the blog from other writers.

There are so many topics to cover related to Premier League football that it's nice to have people with different perspectives.

Each article features the name of the writer under the headline. Jeff Hash has been writing about TV ratings, which are always interesting. Paul Bestall's article about Euro 2008 coverage on British TV was eyeopening, and I could go on and on.

I don't expect you to agree with all of the opinions or be interested by all of the articles, but overall I hope you find the experience at EPL Talk enjoyable.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: 5 Reasons Why The European Football Championship Is Better Than The World Cup

The Gaffer — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 10:07:21 -0000

Readers,

Sammy Patel has been banned from future posts on EPL Talk. He logged on last night and posted several messages under the names "Kartik" and "Simon Burke" trying to instigate trouble.

Those posts where he pretended to be Kartik and Simon Burke have been deleted, and Sammy has been blocked from posting anymore.

Thanks for your patience.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Win A Euro 2008 Shirt From Castrol And EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:14:26 -0000

Congratulations Andrew Brown and Lou for winning the T-shirts. Great stats. Email me your mailing address for the size L shirts to thegaffer[at]epltalk[dot]com

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Jack Bell Is A Wanker, Part II

The Gaffer — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:35:54 -0000

Kartik,

You've lost your marbles on this one. Robbie Mustoe and Shaka Hislop?? They're both awful commentators. I remember Mustoe doing a horrible commentary recently during the Liverpool against Chelsea Champions League semi-final.

Obviously you see faults in Gray where I see strengths. He's one of the most gifted co-commentators we've had the pleasure of hearing on ESPN and for that he should be praised not kicked into touch.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: SPAIN CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE!

The Gaffer — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:07:12 -0000

Here's a rare article from The Wall Street Journal on football, specifically Euro 2008:

http://tinyurl.com/5sd347

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Football And The Decline Of The Western Civilization

The Gaffer — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:31:12 -0000

All,

I don't pretend to have all of the answers, but the article is based more on a matter of opinion than fact. Sure, I'm older (late 30s) and have been through a lot in my life, so I may sound more jaded than most of you who commented, but this is my perspective on the world that we live in.

Tomas/Alex, I have three kids and a fourth on the way. I don't feel they're doomed at all but I'm more of a realist than an idealist.

Good feedback everyone. I enjoyed reading everyone's comments on this one.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Fox Soccer Channel Poll

The Gaffer — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:56:31 -0000

Matt,

All will be revealed tomorrow. The answers to the poll will help fuel my idea for an article that I plan on writing.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: How Soccer Can Learn A Lot From Tennis

The Gaffer — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 06:57:06 -0000

Sacked,

The RSS feed is working fine by me. Try it again at http://feeds.feedburner.com/epltalk

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Barack Obama Supports West Ham United

The Gaffer — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 21:24:51 -0000

Old news, I know, but it's a new picture. The original story about Barack's ties to the Hammers was published in January:

http://tinyurl.com/5hvbs6

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: New Bolton Home Shirt Revealed For 2008/2009 Season

The Gaffer — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:12:33 -0000

Patrick,

Not sure what you're talking about. It must be something on your PC. If you can send me a screenshot, please do at thegaffer[at]epltalk[dot]com

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Rare Football Memorabilia Found On eBay

The Gaffer — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:27:02 -0000

Betsy:

I wish!

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: 2008/2009 Premier League TV Schedule For US Residents

The Gaffer — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:32:30 -0000

John,

Fox Soccer Channel won't announce their Premier League TV schedule for several more weeks yet, but here's a sneak peek of some of the games that we know that they (and Setanta Sports) will show.

They'll be announcing which 10am ET games they'll be showing in the near future.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: New 08/09 Chelsea Away and Third Shirts Revealed

The Gaffer — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 13:57:27 -0000

Carlos,

This is an old post which was written in March. We now know, of course, that the black shirt is the away one while the third strip is the yellow one.

Anonymous, the pictures are from the website FootballShirtCulture.com

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Get A Free Premier League Travel Guide Ebook

The Gaffer — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:11:18 -0000

Matthew,

Thanks for the nice compliment.

Ah, there are so many jewels in England to see. Craven Cottage is quiet but so historic, like stepping back in time. I've been to Anfield but not for a match (that's next on my list).

Old Trafford and the Emirates Stadium can be quiet at times even for big matches.

Personally, I'd recommend going to Goodison Park, Fratton Park, Villa Park and White Hart Lane.

What do you, the rest of the readers, think?

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Manchester City and North America: The Strong Connection

The Gaffer — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:25:09 -0000

Hi Mike,

Thanks for sharing the feedback. I appreciate it. We'll definitely keep that in mind for future articles.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Tottenham Hotspur Launches New Website Redesign

The Gaffer — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:52:46 -0000

Based on your comments, I did some additional research and uncovered that the website redesign did in fact go live in October. My apologies for the mistake.

What threw me off was that some of the pages of the site had been moved around, so it's quite possible that they've been making modifications to the site even since the redesign went live last Fall.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Wigan Unveils New Away Shirt For 2008/2009 Season

The Gaffer — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:21:44 -0000

The more I look at it, the more it looks like a ref's shirt.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Top 5 Best Football Shirts Of 08/09 Premier League Season

The Gaffer — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:35:04 -0000

Good catch Ryan. I meant the home kit, and have now made that edit.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Tottenham Hotspur Is Ready To Crack The Big Four

The Gaffer — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:38:04 -0000

Kartik,

Last season, I predicted Spurs would finish in sixth place. Check out the article at http://tinyurl.com/5gvoo6

All the signs I'm seeing from Spurs is that they're focused and ready to attack the Premier League this season. I'm very hopeful and look forward to seeing teams break up the Big Four monopoly.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: West Ham United v MLS All-Stars On ESPN Tonight

The Gaffer — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:59:51 -0000

M2FC,

Grow up. I'm not a racist for calling the way that West Ham plays 'vanilla.' Hopefully you're joking.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: BBC Five Live Radio Interview Tonight

The Gaffer — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 07:40:06 -0000

Thanks Lee for the kind words. I appreciate it.

No word from Tim and Andy whether I can be a regular guest, but I'm sure that slot will remain with the excellent Sean Wheelock when he returns. Still, it was a fantastic experience and a great example of the BBC's kindness to put me on the show. No payment, but that's fine by me.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: BBC Five Live Radio Interview Tonight

The Gaffer — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 07:41:28 -0000

Mike, I'll be including a link to the episode under the Media Coverage section on EPL Talk later today at http://www.epltalk.com/media-coverage

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: EPL Travel Guide

The Gaffer — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 07:42:42 -0000

Thank you Neil for the kind words. Hope you enjoyed the discussion and the free eBook.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: New 08/09 Blackburn Rovers Home Shirt Revealed | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 09:37:00 -0000

Looks like it's the right shirt after all. Here's a picture of Rovers wearing it during a pre-season match:

http://tinyurl.com/5nsatb

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Join The EPL Talk Fantasy Premier League

The Gaffer — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:39:10 -0000

The code for the 2008/2009 season is 55864-15648

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Appearance On BBC Radio 5 & World Football Phone-In Show | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:14:21 -0000

EPLNFL,

Thanks for the kind words. It's probably going to be a one-time appearance especially with Sean Wheelock returning again, but I'd love to do the show again given the opportunity.

Answering questions off the cuff in a live show where you have no idea what topic will be covered was definitely exciting.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: BBC Five Live Radio Interview Tonight

The Gaffer — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:15:12 -0000

TT and Kartik,

I had been on Up All Night two times before this one, but each time it was with Rhod Sharpe as the guest, so this was the first time I was interviewed by Dotun Adebayo.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Poll: Who Should Tottenham Buy Next?

The Gaffer — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:06:40 -0000

LOL Burt. You have to admit though that Spurs is the one team making all the news this summer.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Why Fox Soccer Channel Viewers Need To Subscribe To Setanta Sports

The Gaffer — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:08:52 -0000

Boyo,

No intention of hawking. Just trying to make sure that the readers know where they're more likely to find their favorite team on TV -- there's less than three weeks before the season starts, so there's still time to upgrade to DirecTV or get Setanta Broadband.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Fox Soccer Channel & Setanta Sports Announce 08/09 EPL TV Schedule

The Gaffer — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 02:43:34 -0000

Pierre,

More info can be found at http://tinyurl.com/5fahrg

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Ideas Sought For 2008/2009 Premier League Guide

The Gaffer — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:54:41 -0000

Hi Bryan,

Thanks for the idea. I think, though, you're mixing up the eBooks. The idea you mentioned would be ideal for the EPL Travel Guide. I'll consider that for a future edition of the guide.

But for the Premier League guide, it'd be more of a guide to each of the 20 teams, the club and its players.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Premiership Preview–20. Stoke City

The Gaffer — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:27:53 -0000

Michael,

Excuse my ignorance, but is Stoke number 20 because you predict they'll end in last place? Just checking, especially for newer readers to your previews.

Great preview of Stoke, by the way.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Arsenal’s 2008-2010 Emirates Cup Will Be Televised On GolTV

The Gaffer — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:32:45 -0000

Yep, according to GolTV's press release, it's on. Not sure about Canada.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: GolTV Removed From DISH Network

The Gaffer — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 18:50:29 -0000

Steve, you must be watching Fox Sports Espanol, not GolTV on DISH.

Pedro, we should know more on Monday.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Everton And Newcastle Could Be On The Chopping Block

The Gaffer — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 08:10:59 -0000

David Archer,

Quit being so pompous. EPL is recognized around the world (and in the UK by your top writers including Patrick Barclay) as the English Premier League.

See for yourself at http://tinyurl.com/6lm39t

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Premiership Preview–15. Wigan Athletic

The Gaffer — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 18:21:45 -0000

Just a few things.

First, it's nice to see Wigan fans getting involved in the discussions. Many of us in the States here get disheartened watching on TV the small crowds at the JJB.

Second, Michael is a key writer to EPL Talk, and has the balls to express his opinions. Some of you may not agree with him, but please be courteous when debating.

Worbo, vitalfootball may get a lot of traffic but it's not exclusively based on the Premier League -- and in fact focuses on other leagues such as the Championship too. I'm the one in charge of EPL Talk, so if you have any complaints, please address those to me, not Michael.

Thanks everyone for your comments and contributions. It's good to know that there's a core base of Wigan fans out there.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: GolTV Removed From DISH Network

The Gaffer — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 07:16:03 -0000

Some additional notes regarding the disagreement between DISH Network and GolTV:

* Price -- Kagan Associates estimates GolTV’s average monthly subscriber fee at six cents --is evidently at the center of the dispute.

* Dish Network also this weekend began offering DishLatino customers a 60-day free preview of Setanta Sports on channel 406.

* Dish Network is also providing a free preview of Fox Sports en Español for customers subscribing to America’s Top 250 (DishLatino customers already receive this channel).

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: 2008/2009 Premier League TV Schedule For US Residents

The Gaffer — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:09:59 -0000

Edward,

The fixtures are copyrighted information. You can find them from the Premier League at http://tinyurl.com/6qpyez

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Join The I Know The Score Prediction League From EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:21:34 -0000

Only 50 players are allowed in the private mini-league, so we've reached the limit. However, the good news is that I've opened up another prediction league.

The code for that one is: FC57A-FLM

Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Premier League Online Chat For Opening Day Of Season

The Gaffer — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 07:46:42 -0000

Chrissmari,

Good catch. It's now updated.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Premier League Faces Identity Crisis

The Gaffer — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:26:42 -0000

Problem is that unofficially everyone outside of the UK knows it as the EPL. Officially it's the BPL, but how many people ever use BPL?

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Premiership Preview–6. Tottenham

The Gaffer — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 09:01:36 -0000

EPL Matches,

A 'Recent Posts' widget has now been added to the lower right corner. Good idea.

Not sure what you mean by the problem with posting comments and being stuck on the thank you page. Works OK for me. If it happens again, please send a screenshot to me at thegaffer[at]epltalk[dot]com

Thanks for the feedback.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Interview With Newcastle Legend Warren Barton

The Gaffer — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:05:11 -0000

Hi Dave,

Yep, I noticed that too. It's completely automated so I have no control of that.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: How Premier League Players Flaunt Wealth Is Absolutely Sickening

The Gaffer — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:50:20 -0000

So no one here is disgusted by the exorbitant amounts of cash that these players are earning and how they're spending their money on cars, mansions and the like?

No one finds this excessive at all?

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Reclaiming the Spirit of 66

The Gaffer — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:43:47 -0000

Here's a comment that was posted, but ended up in the wrong place on the blog, but the comment is as follows:

"Alex // Aug 14, 2008 at 3:14 pm

“I live in a nation, the United States who has never accomplished in any internationally competitive team sport what England did that wonderful summer forty two years ago. Americans prefer team sports they can dominate or manipulate the rules to their advantage.”

-Perhaps you’ve never heard of the 1980 US Mens Olympic Hockey team?"

Re: Premier League Predictions: Gameweek One

The Gaffer — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 06:55:54 -0000

Yes, welcome back Johnathan - and thanks for sharing your predictions.

If anyone is interested in joining this season's predictions league, go to http://tinyurl.com/6z3m5w for more info.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Latest Premier League News From Around The World

The Gaffer — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 07:08:47 -0000

TampaSoccer,

That's a great question. Estimates are that approximately 300,000 people watch a Premier League match on Fox Soccer Channel.

But from my experiences, very few people (other than the die-hard fans) will watch the full six hours straight. Most may watch one game live, or will skip some or DVR them all for later viewing.

Also from my experiences, very few fans stick around to watch the 12:30-2:30pm game.

If I had to guess, I'd say that there's less than 25,000 people nationwide who watch all six hours straight.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Live Chat: Opening Day Of Premier League Season

The Gaffer — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 16:16:37 -0000

For those of you who experienced the chat today, please let me know what you thought about it and whether you're interested in having EPL Talk do it again throughout the season.

Honest constructive criticism and feedback is welcomed.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Reclaiming the Spirit of 66

The Gaffer — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 16:19:11 -0000

Adam,

Kartik is entitled to his opinion, as we all are (including the readers). If you don't like his opinions, don't read his articles.

For what it's worth, basketball is not a major international sport. Outside of the US and Asia, very few countries care much about or watch it.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Fox Soccer Channel Drops The Ball With Premier League TV Coverage

The Gaffer — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 07:55:05 -0000

RaleighVillan and Brian:

The solution you may want to consider is Setanta Broadband which shows the matches via Internet and includes the "Xtra" match as it did yesterday featuring Hull against Fulham.

No Setanta Xtra scheduled next week because of rugby, but the Xtra match may be shown on Setanta Broadband instead.

Here are the Setanta schedules for TV and Xtra: http://www.setantaus.com/en/NA/Our-Schedules/

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Work Permit Rules Need to be Revisited

The Gaffer — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 20:30:10 -0000

Ray,

I'm curious. Which were the more insulting posts you mentioned?

Thanks for the kind words about the site.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Fox Soccer Channel Drops The Ball With Premier League TV Coverage

The Gaffer — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 21:05:01 -0000

CFTV,

Super Sunday + from Fox wasn't too bad. Main criticism is that the blokes are now wearing suits. What pub do you go to where punters wear suits? This ain't South Beach!

Rest of the coverage was OK. Interesting to hear that Gary Richards predicts Mark Hughes will get the sack and David Moyes will be leaving soon. Much too early to be making predictions like that, I believe.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Premiership All-Star Team–Round 1

The Gaffer — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:43:25 -0000

Michael,

One major omission from the all-star team: Hull City’s Geovanni.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Another Reason To Hate NBC’s Olympic Soccer Coverage

The Gaffer — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:12:59 -0000

The channel I was watching it on was MSNBCs HD channel, which broke for a commercial right before Argentina's second goal and returned after the ball had already gone in the net.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: BBC World News Interviews The Gaffer

The Gaffer — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:27:24 -0000

The BBC World News interview with me is now live at http://tinyurl.com/55lcte

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: GolTV Removed From DISH Network

The Gaffer — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:27:18 -0000

No news is bad news. Sorry Tony.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Join The 2008/2009 Fantasy Premier League

The Gaffer — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 05:14:10 -0000

Hasan,

Premier League schedules are copyrighted material. Please visit premierleague.com for that information.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Premier League: Gameweek Two (Your Running Commentary)

The Gaffer — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 09:47:04 -0000

Berbatov is not starting for Spurs - AGAIN. The sooner he goes, the better.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Do Early Results Spell Hope for Parity in Premier League?

The Gaffer — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 21:03:51 -0000

Excellent article Richard. Both Arsenal and Liverpool look well under form in the first two matches, and we'll have to wait and see whether Man United will recover from their hangover on Monday.

Stoke, Hull, Villa, Sunderland, Boro and Newcastle have all thoroughly impressed me thus far.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Warning Signs For Liverpool Despite Injury Time Winner Against Boro

The Gaffer — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 21:15:22 -0000

If Liverpool keeps on playing like they did against Sunderland and Boro, there's no way they'll win the Premier League title.

Sure, they won both games but they could have easily lost both matches. Yes, there's a long way to go in the season.

Liverpool desperately needs to improve. Otherwise their Premier League race could be over by the end of October.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Paddy Powers Stoke City to Aston Villa Shock

The Gaffer — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 07:09:36 -0000

It was a fantastic performance by Stoke City especially in defense. The team prevented Villa from playing their usual fluid style of play.

Full marks should go to Stoke's fans too who were vociferous and up for the match.

By the reaction of the Stoke players after the full-time whistle blew, you'd have thought that City had won the FA Cup! Classic.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Premier League Wants To Be The NFL

The Gaffer — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 11:38:15 -0000

Portsmouth is included in the 14 because of their plans for their new ground, which would have a large enough capacity. Plus they have the Russian investor owning the club.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Portsmouth vs Manchester United (Your Running Commentary)

The Gaffer — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:26:14 -0000

The friendly that the two clubs played in Nigeria in July where Man United won (again) ; )

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Portsmouth vs Manchester United (Your Running Commentary)

The Gaffer — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:00:29 -0000

Portsmouth looks dreadful. Crouch and Defoe didn't get any service. I really feel Pompey made a mistake by letting Benjani and Muntari leave.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Warning: Websites Are More Dangerous Than Football Grounds

The Gaffer — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:33:04 -0000

Raatzie, lol, don't worry. I can stand the heat of the kitchen and this article has nothing to do with the Liverpool story, which I still stand by.

The idea for this article came long before I wrote the Liverpool piece.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Who Are The Premier League Players You Love To Hate The Most?

The Gaffer — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:23:28 -0000

Erik,

Did you forget about Ferdinand's incident where he smacked the ball into the crowd and injured that woman?

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Why So Many Empty Seats For Cup Competitions?

The Gaffer — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 22:05:31 -0000

Swansea had a fine win tonight against Hull City, beating them 2-1 in extra time to go through to the third round. But despite the club having large attendances (usually), tonight's attendance was 8,600.

Problem is that Hull fielded a second string side. Who wants to go to a match on a night when a club like Hull, hardly attractive, fields a second string? Doesn't inspire me.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: How to Watch the Best Premier League Game of the Day

The Gaffer — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:39:46 -0000

It's a fantastic idea Phil and it's a feature I've already used to great success and will plan on using throughout the season for those times when I can't watch games live.

How is the match ratings calculated? Is it done manually or is it automated - and if the latter, is this something you'll be revealing (somewhat similar to the algorithms that Google uses for its search engines)?

Congrats Phil on a revolutionary idea.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Disgraceful

The Gaffer — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 07:40:58 -0000

Todd,

Every writer is entitled to their own opinion as is each reader. Trust me, I've said a lot of controversial things before on this blog which have pissed people off.

If you don't like what specific readers say, skip their posts. Same applies to mine if some readers don't like what I say.

It's similar to a newspaper like the New York Times which has a bunch of opinion writers. Some articles anger people, but what the Times provides are several different writers giving their own opinions.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: How to Watch the Best Premier League Game of the Day

The Gaffer — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 19:25:51 -0000

Phil,

Any chance of expanding this idea to La Liga and Serie A also? This way, football fans can look across all of the major leagues on telly and pick and choose which would be the best matches to watch.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Two Crazy Offside Calls in the West Ham v Blackburn Game

The Gaffer — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 08:37:02 -0000

Nice to see Bellamy's return and a wonderful goal to boot.

I agree that the press have seemed to have a vendetta against Curbs this summer. Hopefully this win can shut them up.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Premier League Gameweek Three (Your Running Commentary) | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 08:50:54 -0000

Nice to see the reaction from the away Stoke fans when their team bundled in that goal. Stoke supporters are the most passionate I've seen this season and haven't been conditioned to sit in their seats and clap yet.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Premier League: August 31, 2008 (Your Running Commentary) | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 08:55:07 -0000

At this rate, I don't see Spurs scoring a goal in this match today. It's all Chelsea.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Premier League: August 31, 2008 (Your Running Commentary) | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 20:35:33 -0000

Hoping to make an announcement sometime this week regarding the return of the chat. Stay tuned for more details : )

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Premier League: August 31, 2008 (Your Running Commentary) | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 21:07:00 -0000

The sad truth is that the Premier League were leading the way in developing the technology but FIFA decided to dump the idea in favor of testing a six referee plan for the future.

To me, the goal-line technology would be the easiest to implement and least controversial use of technology. It's time for FIFA to wake up.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: GolTV Tells Dish Network Customers To Switch

The Gaffer — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 02:04:57 -0000

Will, you smart arse ; )

I've received a ton of e-mails from frustrated GolTV viewers who were on Dish but have now switched to DirecTV.

Feel free to read the message boards on BigSoccer.com to see how many more people are upset about the whole deal and have switched too.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Man United Website Features Berbatov As New First Team Player | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 18:23:58 -0000

Maybe lads, but The Daily Mail is reporting that the deal for Berbatov is done and is now a Man United player with Fraizer Campbell going to Spurs plus 20 million pounds.

Read the story here:
http://tinyurl.com/5bxrvk

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Manchester City Is The New Chelsea Of Premier League | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:50:27 -0000

AtlantaPompey,

It's good news for the Premier League as a whole and as a business, not for the majority of the individual clubs.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Who Is Abu Dhabi United Group?

The Gaffer — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 02:24:06 -0000

An excellent follow-up piece by David Conn of The Guardian:

http://tinyurl.com/5klz8m

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: FIFA 09 Preview

The Gaffer — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 07:59:49 -0000

Correct lads. I've updated the story to reflect the new dates. EA must have changed it from September to October at the last minute.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: England Are In A No-Win Situation Against Andorra | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:14:26 -0000

Dave M,

Thanks for the info about deep-seated. I had no idea about that. Much appreciated.

Even if England won 4-0 or 5-0, there would be many pundits and fans that would be unsatisfied with the result. England would need to score in the double digits for people to say that "England are back."

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Fox Soccer Channel Pays $7.5 Million For Nielsen Ratings | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:19:48 -0000

I had the luck of doing a Nielsen test a few years ago and 95% of my TV watching at that time was Fox Soccer Channel. After Nielsen received the black book back from me, they must have thought I was nuts or working for FSC.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: FIFA 09 Preview

The Gaffer — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:20:10 -0000

Django, good catch. The culprit video has been removed. Thanks.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Alan Curbishley Resigns As West Ham United Manager

The Gaffer — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:23:59 -0000

I don't blame Curbs for resigning. After Ferdinand and McCartney were sold to Sunderland and no adequate cover was brought in, how is he expected to win matches?

It's not as if the expectations from the Hammers fans would have been lowered. They would have still expected the same top half finish.

In the back of his mind, Curbs probably knew he would end up being sacked in a few weeks time if the team slumped to more defeats, so resigning now was the best thing he could do. It saves him the embarrassment of being sacked and increases his chances of getting another manager's job in the near future.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: How Not To Run A Football Club | EPL Talk

The Gaffer — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:18:26 -0000

Well said Paul. Both Newcastle and West Ham put Keegan and Curbishley into impossible positions. Ashley is going to get crucified for this one.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: FIFA 09 Preview

The Gaffer — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 05:50:57 -0000

Darren,

Yes a PS2 version of FIFA 09 is scheduled for release.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Beer And English Football: A Match Made In Heaven

The Gaffer — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 09:37:43 -0000

The one thing I would say about alcohol is that it shouldn't be blamed for hooliganism. You had all of that beer consumed during WC 2006 and there were few problems from the England fans.

To me, hooliganism is often premeditated and more political than a result of drunken fans.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Man United Leads the Premier League in Average Attendance

The Gaffer — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:29:24 -0000

Jaymes,

These numbers are for actual butts on the seats - whether they be season ticket holders to tickets bought on a matchday.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Premier League August Report And September Forecast -2

The Gaffer — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:14:02 -0000

Weston,

Personally, I prefer the delay. It adds more suspense. Plus, we get some comedic relief from watching England underachieve yet again in major qualifying tournaments ; )

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: ESPN Can’t Please Everybody. Who Knew?

The Gaffer — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:00:48 -0000

Good article Eamonn. Commentators are like pop bands. You either love them or hate them. It's very subjective. To me, the true test of whether a commentator is decent or not is by switching the volume off on the game. You get to see things in a match that you wouldn't otherwise see because you're analyzing it rather than listening to the commentator analyzing it for you. The other great thing about the volume being off is that when there is a controversial decision and you want to hear the opinion of the co-commentator, you can switch the volume on and hear what they have to say. In Mustoe's case, he wasn't saying much. Smyth was at least more opinionated.

Keep up the good work.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Carling Cup First Round Draw for CCC Teams

The Gaffer — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 07:02:02 -0000

Shakira,

Swansea is scheduled to play Brentford at home, not Barnet.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: The Season Has Begun!

The Gaffer — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:50:52 -0000

I think the Swans will bounce back after their loss against Charlton. Reports are that Swansea played Charlton off the park for large portions of the match but lost after two stupid mistakes from set plays.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: MLS Weekend Thoughts

The Gaffer — Sat, 10 May 2008 07:52:36 -0000

Kartik,

To me, the actions of a few drunk Toronto FC fans does not constitute a hooliganism problem in MLS. I checked out the link you included above, and I don't see a problem.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: Welcome to Soccer On Dish

The Gaffer — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:02:28 -0000

Dave,

Soccer On Dish was initially launched last year to coincide with the launch of Setanta becoming available on Dish network. While that has long past, I thought it'd be useful to provide soccer coverage news to people who watch their futbol on a "dish," whether that be DirecTV or DISH Network -- and also include cable, IPTV, broadband, etc.

Not the most perfect name in the world, I agree. But it works.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: World Cup Buzz Welcome

The Gaffer — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:58:07 -0000

Dave,

Knowing FIFA, they'll broadcast the matches so they're shown during primetime in Europe so they can get the most money for TV rights. That means that games will be shown on a similar schedule to Euro 2008... probably Noon and 2:45pm ET.

As for South Africa, they'll probably scrape by and have everything done at the last minute.

Cheers,
The Gaffer