Barry's Beef

Yet another boring F.A Cup draw this time for the Quarter Finals. Is it just me or has this tournament really been this indeterminably dull?

Middlesbrough or West Brom v Manchester United or Reading

Arsenal or Blackburn v Manchester City

Chelsea v Tottenham

Plymouth v Watford

No, that's pretty dull.

Update: Just for a change, common sense has been conspicuous in its absence within the hallowed corridors of the F.A. A suggestion mooted by Arsene 'the Professor' Whinger and Glenn 'The Smallest Mouth in Football' Roeder that replays in the F.A Cup should be scratched has fallen upon deaf ears. So what that it causes loads of fixture congestion and only a moderate proportion of fans will turn up to replays played midweek; just think of the wonga you can get by screening yet another Middlesbrough replay. And, of course, punditry from insightful legends like Shearer (zzzzzzz...), Wright (ah man, you know what I mean Al?) and Hansen (they're playing with passion, power, passion, power and power)

Labels: Arsenal, Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, dull, F.A Cup, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Plymouth Argyle, Quarter Finals, Reading, Spurs, Watford, West Brom

It happened last week and I am ashamed not to have documented it earlier, Lubos Kubik has left Torquay United. No points at all if you ask 'who is Lubos Kubik?', but full marks should you know he was the Czechoslovakian defender who heinously wore the number 9 shirt in the 1990 World Cup and who went on to briefly managed Torquay United.
Foreigners with massive (at least proportionately to where they have gone) reputations who have failed, miserably, in England. Well, let me think - for every Prosinecki at Portsmouth there are a load of flops...Ramón Díaz as manager of Oxford United springs to mind; Roberto Mancini playing for Leicester City; Thomas Brolin at Leeds and Palace and Attilio Lombardo at Palace (now Lombardo was a good player, Brolin a fat, idle waster (who I believe went back to Sweden to sell hoovers), Square Football's version of Palace's Terry and June: (On Lombadro being appointed manager)The snag was that the Italian couldn’t speak a word of English which produced the 'Odd Couple' combination with the Swede Thomas Brolin, who presumably kept a straight face when asking the players for more effort. Eventually the club finished bottom but Lombardo stayed with the club in Division One.); Taribo West at Plymouth (the lunatic claimed to have been told in a dream to sign for Plymouth and was on an annual salary alleged to be in the region of £600,000 - tragically, he ignored the dream he had where he was offered the chance to host Deal or No Deal). A (dis)honourable mention should also go to Javier Mascherano.
Football: it's a funny old game. Any other foreigners with massive reputations who did absoutely nob-all? Maybe, World Cup winner Roque Junior at Leeds? Although, I am particularly after the more improbable, rather than plain shit, examples.

Update: The Lib Dem MP for Torbay, Adrian Sanders, who if memory serves was once voted 'Hardest Working MP', has drawn my attention to his own blog where the Torquay fan has posted a frankly scary homage to Lubos Kubik. Now will he reciprocate and link to me?

Labels: Attillio Lombardo, Crystal Palace, Lubos Kubik, Oxford United, Plymouth Argyle, Ramon Diaz, Thomas Brolin, Torquay United