Be Excellent To Each Other

Woo! The Guardian tip us as good outside bets for promtion to the Premier League, there is a feeling of optimism around Turf Moor and... 1-0 down in the first minute.

This is what being a Claret is about.

Six minutes in

Sheffield Wednesday 2 Burnley 1

Slowed down a bit. They've scored another, but it took 18 minutes.

Sheffield Wednesday 3 Burnley 1.

In other news. In the World of Football, if you go behind your employers back to get a move away from the club, and then you, your potential new club and your agent persistently unsettle your existing club and try to force them into selling you, your new club pulls in a few influential friends to call you a "slave" then you mysteriously pick up an injury which prevents you playing for your new club on their pre-season tour, then when it is clear that you won't be leaving for said new club because you are bound by a contract you signed a year ago.

What happens?

You get a new contract.

Aldershot win on their first game back in the league and there's already virtually no chance of them being relegated.

Meanwhile, Wrexham favorites to win the Conference?

AFC Wimbledon also off to a flying start in the Conference South.

I watched 2 and half games this weekend and got to see one measly goal. booo.

Bobbyaro is a Burnley fan too. Two of them on one forum! Whatever next?

I support Wednesday and am pleased with this auspicious start to the season.

went to zwolle-mvv in the dutch first division (2nd in the pyramid), 0-0, but i needed football, ugly new stadium..

in myfc news, we played 2-2 against mansfield, who came down; apparently we voted the manager to pick the team, this should become fahsionable, as i want that for my membership

ajax starts in 3 weeks.., but 5 to go the first home game,very late..

Oh I'm feeling rather confident about this season suddenly.

Two of them in the same stadium?


Nah. never going to happen.

Mighty Villa kicked some arse this weekend, and I was glad to see Stoke getting tonked.

Does this mean we have 3 Villa fans on the forum then?
Any more want to own up?

I love hoe Gabby was rubbish for about 82 minutes of our game, but still got a hat trick.

Great weekend of football, I watched 5 and a half games through internet streaming magic.
also newcastle didnt get thrashed and played well, like a team, with team players, it was strange.

I like that keegan has brought back the tradition of players with big hair.

After another woeful England performance, will Fabio Capello realise that the best fit wide player in the entire league might be worth a spot in his squad?

I didn;t evenbother watching it.

Just read a letter that amused me in the F365 mailbox, along the lines of:

"I think the last time I saw a good English performance at Wembley was when Muse played last year..."

joe cole was playing heh. who do you mean though ashley young i hope.

anyone got any predictions for this weekend?

Im pretty much certain newcastle are going to win against bolton, great new signings and a good buzz for the new season, and theres a free pint to any fan that goes to the ground before 2.10pm so the crowd should be up for it.

Im hoping man u get beat though, and they could possibly but in honesty having tevez back and a fitter rooney will be a big help to them.

Ashley Young; legend in the making.

I'm waiting for someone to tell Roy Keane this isn't Football Manager 2008/09 and he can't bid for and buy as many players as he can get his hands on!

*weeps and weeps and weeps*

At least you didn't go.

ha I went to my game and we won mother fuckers. fighting with hull for 3rd place.

Battle of the giants. The sky 4 are quaking already.

Hello, still wanting footy conversations, so what do you think of your team in the 2/3 weeks so far? where you think theyll come? what players do you think your club need before the transfer windows closes?

So far my team newcastle have got at least one point more than I thought they would have from the opening two games and the team is full of players enjoying the game and alot of players with points to prove like owen, guthrie, guiterrez, beye, taylor and there seems to be a greater sense of team work and effort than season before. I think a top 10 finish is entirely possible and possibly fighting around the uefa cup spots if we get a few more players in the right positions although time is running out.
As for signings, our defense doesnt look too bad so far, barring colocinis dodgy start against man u and steven taylor playing volleyball on saturday but n'zogbia isnt a left back and is a weak link in our back 4, luis enrique has never looked confident either so a left back should be a main priority. Also a decent back up striker would be nice especially since owen and vidukas injury shifts might overlap at some point, and finally a playmaker for the centre of midifield as we seem a bit to limited in attacking with only using wingers.

So, Villa then. Better than expected last year finishing 6th with a tiny squad. Scored more league goals than enyone except Man U and Arsenal, but also conceded more than anyone else in the top half apart from Man City (who conceded 8 on the last day for a laugh).

Our signings so far have been of the defensive variety, finally signing a right back after choosing to go all of last season without a proper one.

So, scores loads, but concedes loads, but spent big on defense in the transfer window. Surely we're heading in the right direction?
Well, we've scored 6 in two games, which is more than anyone else, but we've conceded 5, which is as many as anyone else. So, no change at all then.

Obviously, a few of you may have heard about the ongoing Gareth Barry transfer thing, which will presumably reach an interesting conclusion on Sunday, when we have to play Liverpool.

We definitely need another striker and another right-sided midfielder, and maybe something else in the middle as well if Barry decides to bugger off somewhere.

I think we'll probably finish around 6th again, it's hard to say at the moment, but the other teams expected to challenge the top 4 haven't really done anything good either.

We desperately need a right winger. More than anything else, as NRC playing there just unbalances the whole side. I'm a big fan of Nigel, but he's not a bloody winger. Get a winger like Milner, SWP et al, get NRC in the middle with Barry, get more space for Ashley due to not always attacking through the one flank, win more games.

Simple, innit?

You'd think so, for the first half on saturday we were doing Stoke no damage at all by constantly trying to attack down the right.
With about 5 minutes of the half left, the midfield reorganised to put Young on the right and Barry on the left. Then we started attacking down the left. *We need a slaps forehead dimlie*

At this rate, AFC Bournemouth will have zero points by Christmas. Up the Cherries, etc.

Looks like you villains are getting milner, hes just handed in a transfer request.

The Gods mock us so.

First Liverpool spawn a raggedy raggedy win to get through to the Champions League group stages.

Now Human Rights FC are 1 minute from going out to a Danish pub team and get an equalising via an own goal.

TBH, I'd rather the Scousers hadn't gone through. Because laughing at them never, ever grows old.

Can someone explain why they just fixed the champions league draw to put Roma in Chelsea's group without drawing a single ball?

Wait, who are all these ridiculous teams in the champions league draw?

I know! Celtic! Bloody Celtic!

Another reader of The Fiver, I see.



Transfer deadline day today. Ooooh, excitement! I'm hoping that VIlla sign a striker that isn't named Kevin Doyle.

I am hoping Burnley sign a new team. And a manager who realises that accurate through balls to a quick striker are not the same as long balls over the top to said strikers head.

Why haven't we signed anybody yet?

What the hell is going on at Man City?

I'm enjoying today more than can possibly be healthy.

The whole of football has entered bizzaro world.

From what I can gather someone at Man City thinks they're playing Football Manager.

With the cheats turned on.

I think they're going to find that they've used an editor to give the club loads of cash, but without increasing their reputation they still won't be able to sign anyone.

erm robinho is going to city.

Well it never used to work for me.

Or is he?

I still think that it's either a ploy to get Chelsea to up their price, or Robinho doesn't know that there are two teams in Manchester...

Apparently he has now.

That has got to be the most unusual transfer from out of nowhere that I've ever seen. The new owners bought the club and on the first day splash out 30+ million on a world class player, right from under the nose of Chelsea?

Their due diligence staff must be fucking fantastic!




Also... very glad that Villa have played them once already!

Keegan to walk out of Newcastle. You heard it here first.

Although I may be wrong.

First? It was on the news a couple of hours ago that he might walk after 'crisis talks'!