Reading 1 Aston Villa 2

Reading 1 Aston Villa 2

A world apart form the abject performance at Fulham - we really deserved this win.

In fact it was a decent all round game. Ashley Young's goal right on half time was so important as it was looking as if we we're going in level having squandered numerous chances including Birthday Boy's horrendous penalty miss. Everyone was playing their part including Martin Laursen with another class display at the back.



Big Marlon again came on and made an impact yet again with his strength and aggression. His goal was an absolute beauty - very similar to Thierry Henry's against Celtic except you'll see Henry's goal another 100 times on Sky whilst Harewood's will be forgotten by Monday.

Two footnotes to this game:

James Harper. You're a nobody. When you come up against a somebody - show some f*cking respect. A Jab in someone's back followed by mouthing off as you walk away repesents being a complete coward.

Stephen Hunt. You're a cheat. I hope one day you'll look back at the TV of this game and realise what an idiot you made of yourself. Blatant cheat - nothing more, nothing less.

Anyway, I don't care - we're still in there. Passport renewal forms at the ready!

Sis Gettin' Married!

Bolton In Madrid

Unprovoked attacks by police. Fans scattered everywhere with no one able to tell them which part of the ground they're supposed to enter. I could have told you 24 hours before that this would happen.

All sounds very, very familar - it could only be our Spanish "friends" Athletico Madrid.

Madrid had the look of a worried, desperate club after their 0-0 first leg score by deciding to post all the Bolton team movements (hotels, flights etc) on their offical website. Will Sepp Blatter do anything about this - will he f*ck.

Once again the same old stories are surfacing but nothing will happen. The Spanish Club and Police seem exempt from any law or governing body of any kind.

One thing is for sure - Bolton Wanderers did a fantastic job of knocking them out so well done to Gary Megson and his team for that. Shame on the TV companies as well for not showing the game but drooling over Spurs and Everton in games that were already won anyway.

Well done Bolton.

Gazza On The Edge

This was really sad news, probably news we've all seen coming.

Paul Gascoigne was a truly brilliant footballer who would run rings round some of the pretenders in the Premier League now.



Unfortunately some of his friends and advisors have really let him down. The man needs professional help and the media need to leave him alone to get it.

I wish him a speedy recovery.

Good On Yer Sis!

My sister popped in to see me with some rather surprise news yesterday.

She's getting married - finally! The extra part of the news was that little bruv has to give her away meaning I have to buy a new suit between now and June!!

Congratulations to Sis and Kev on their news.

Praise For Sky? What?!

NFL Total Access

I'm gonna have to do it - praise Sky two updates running!

This years NFL coverage was by far the best - it's been really good for many year now but with 5 games available on any Sunday and also the Monday night games it's covered everything.

Kevin Cadle and Nick Halling do a grand job - even if Halling clearly hates the Cowboys and especially T.O.

The best addition though has been NFL Total Access which they screen the day after it's shown in the States. In past years you'd have to rely on Fanzines before the internet - now there's a show with the latest news, interviews and highlights.



It's still running now though surely they may struggle to fill the time with the season finished! You can only talk about the draft for so long.

So another season over - we saw the first NFL regular season game at Wembley in October and witnessed the worst team (The Miami Dolphins) and also as it turned out the best (New York Giants) in the pouring rain.

...and it's another Miami Dolphins....defeat.

The Cowboys choked again when it really mattered having been excellent for most of their 13-3 season. They lost badly to the eventual Superbowl Champs New York in a pretty dismal showing. They really should be knocking at the door next season. Dallas took 13 players to The Pro Bowl and the Giants only one - maybe suggesting the Giants are a better team than one of individuals?

It's only 6 months away!

Ross Kemp In Afghanistan

Ross Kemp In Afghanistan

Just a quick blog to say what a fantastic series this has been on Sky 1.

I've often said we've really got no idea what our brave soldiers go through over there and this series has backed that assumption up.



Contstant attacks, all manners of danger and of course the searing heat. Kemp is right there on the front line with a very brave cameraman and soundman. Every aspect seems to have been covered.

The scenes of ambushes and scrambling under fire, the confusion followed by sheer relief at survival, often expressed by a lot of swearing are amazing to watch. Also though the scenes from Helmet Cams and the aftermath when the "Friendly Fire" incident happened are pretty harrowing.

It's been excellent TV and there's still one Episode left.

...and good luck Bolton Wanderers in the UEFA Cup tonight against Real Madrid's poor relations "The Mattress Makers". Give 'em a spanking Bolton.

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English Football Greed

Top clubs consider overseas games (From The BBC)


The English Premier League is considering the idea of staging some matches around the rest of the world. At a meeting in London on Thursday, all 20 clubs agreed to explore a proposal to extend the season to 39 games.

Those 10 extra games would be played at five different venues, with cities bidding for the right to stage them.

It is understood the additional fixtures could be determined by a draw but that the top-five teams could be seeded to avoid playing each other.

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore told BBC Sport: "I think it's an idea whose time has come. It's an exciting prospect. We believe that an 'international round' of matches will enhance the strength of the Barclays Premier League as a competition

"When the league does well, other people in the football family do well in terms of redistribution. We feel it is a very positive thing.

"You can't stand still and if we don't do this then somebody else is going to do it, whether it be football or another sport. Therefore it's trying to ride the crest of that wave at the same as protecting what is good and great about what we do.

"Every time there is an evolutionary step, the reaction of the fans is not always great but I would ask them to take a step back and look at the positives."

The Football Association has given its provisional support to the plans.

"We understand the reasons for this proposals and the benefits it can bring to English football as a whole," said an FA source.

A final decision on the proposals will not be made until January 2009. The main aspects of the plans are: An additional round of Premier League fixtures, extending the season to 39 games, from January 2011

Four clubs to travel to one of five host cities, with two games taking place in each venue over a weekend

Cities would bid for the right to become a host, not for individual matches

Scudamore added that "there is much more detail to follow which we will work on over the next 12 months".

Cities in Asia, Middle East and North America are likely to show a strong interest in hosting the extra games.

BBC sports editor Mihir Bose says the Premier League's decision to explore such a move is a "logical" one.

"The growth of the Premier League has been impressive in the last 15 years thanks to the sale of television rights in this country," he said.

"But now the market in the United Kingdom is becoming saturated and it is the overseas market which is now the big target area." This is a chance for the Premier League to showcase its product around the world

The Premier League's income from the sale of overseas TV rights has already increased from £178m in 2001 to £625m for the current deal that runs until 2010.

Broadcaster NowTV paid around £100m for the rights to Hong Kong alone.

Premier League games are broadcast to over 600m homes in 202 countries worldwide, while an estimated 1bn people watched the Premier League game between Arsenal and Manchester United in November 2007.

A number of top-flight clubs already play matches around the world as they seek to capitalise on the huge global interest in the English game.

Manchester United are regular visitors to Asia, Middle East and America while other clubs are beginning to follow their lead.

"This is a chance for the Premier League to showcase its product around the world," added Bose.

"Some fans may feel aggrieved, but their concerns will be outweighed in the eyes of the clubs by the financial advantages. "The clubs will see this as a chance to make more money so they can invest in new facilities and better players."

There is also likely to be a big scramble for the right to host the extra games. Man Utd make regular visits to Asia and are proving a big hit in China

"It will be like cities bidding for the Olympic Games or the World Cup," explained Bose. The Premier League's proposal mirrors moves in other sports, notably American Football.

Miami Dolphins and New York Giants met at Wembley in October, the first competitive NFL game outside the Americas.

"Globalisation is a challenge for all sports because the whole world seems to be interested in the very best of sport wherever it comes from," added Scudamore.

"Through modern media exposure there is a globalisation and we need to do something to make sure we are at the forefront of that and making sure we turn that into positive benefits for the game at all levels in this country."

Scudamore also defended the claim that taking away the principle of teams playing each other twice, home and away, removes the league's fairness.

"There is a perfect symmetry to our league but that is not the same thing as saying it is fair," he said.

"The clubs will know in advance what the rules are, there will be a draw and these matches will not be anyone's home or away games.

"There are a lot of things that will be done to make it as fair as you can make it. This is not a challenge to the integrity of the competition."

My View:

It was bound to happen - just a matter of time.

Don't bleat about football "losing it's soul". It did that long ago when Sky started changing matches to every day of the week and moving kick off times at short notice.
They saw what happened at the NFL game at Wembley. 90,000 people paying top price for tickets, stripping the merch stands clean and spending virtually everything they had. That was for an average NFL game (even though one of the teams turned out Superbowl Champions!).

There is only one incentive. Money. They care about nothing else - they certainly don't care about us as supporters so we may as well accept it now.

I've got no particular problem with the idea, it's just that I wish these Chairman and owners would just be honest and say there is only one motive for doing this. They know the tills will be ringing and if there's any chance at all that Sunderland v Portsmouth might attract 65,000 people paying full whack in, let's say, Australia - they'll do it.

It makes me laugh how they've whined for years about having a winter break. Now they want to add a game at that very time of year and make everyone travel the globe in doing so. Hypocritcal twats. Money talks - every single time.

Don't worry though, Prime Minister Gordon Brown is on our side and as an honest politician who looks after the hard working law-abiding citizens of this country so well, we have nothing to fear with him on our side!

Daniel & The FA Cup

Daniel & The FA Cup

We were walking through Cheltenham early on Saturday when we noticed a large security presence in the arcade, probably about 8 or 9 of them all looking very shifty.

Anyway, about 2 hours later we're wandering back through when we realised what the fuss was all about.

The FA Cup had come to town!




I hope Daniel remembers the time he touched this wonderful trophy - as a Villa supporter he may never see it again!