Sunday, February 8, 2009

Sunday Open Thread: Today is Groundhog Day


Tottenham: Where boyhood dreams go to die.


This room... there's something about this room. And that guy over there-- I know him! But from where? When? It's a strange sensation, like we've all been here before.

And of course, we have. Arsenal and their bright new [boyish-looking] foreign star are visiting White Hart Lane for a showdown, if we can call it that, with Tottenham Redux. Robbie Keane makes his debut (again) today and does so as captain, which just makes the whole thing that much more bizarre. But as with truth and war, this type of moral ambiguity doesn't play so well during a relegation battle. So I'll stash it until things are more.. emmm... comfortable. (Note: Arsenal not expected to play Arshavin. Tottenham not expected to play well. Prediction: Spurs 2, Arse 2)

Elsewhere in London, West Ham play host to Man. U. in a match they will lose either 0-1 or 0-5. I'll put my money on the former if only because the Liverpool fans are so heavily invested in the outcome and everything for them this season is a blathering, teary-eyed melodrama. (Prediction: Manchester United 1, West Ham United 0)
Update! Lingering is threatening to liveblog this, so beware...

The fixtures and squads after the jump.



TOTTENHAM vs ARSENAL -- White Hart Lane -- 8.30 am

Tottenham: Cudicini, Gomes, Alnwick, Corluka, Dawson, Woodgate, Assou-Ekotto, Chimbonda, Lennon, Huddlestone, Jenas, Zokora, Modric, Keane, Pavlyuchenko, Campbell, Bent, Bale, Taarabt, Rocha, Giovani,

Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, Toure, Clichy, Nasri, Denilson, Song, Eboue, Adebayor, Van Persie, Fabianski, Djourou, Gibbs, Wilshere, Vela, Bendtner, Ramsey, Arshavin..


***


WEST HAM vs MAN U -- Upton Park -- 11.00 am

West Ham: Green, Neill, Collins, Upson, Ilunga, Behrami, Parker, Noble, Savio, Collison, Cole, Di Michele, Boa Morte, Lastuvka, Lopez, Spector, Tomkins, Tristan, Sears, Kovac.

Man. Utd: Van der Sar, Foster, Kuszczak, Brown, Eckersley, Ferdinand, Vidic, O'Shea, Evra, Ronaldo, Carrick, Scholes, Fletcher, Gibson, Giggs, Park, Tosic, Berbatov, Rooney, Tevez, Possebon.

98 comments:

jape said...

Anyone got a link for the Arsenal/Spuds game? I am reduced to watching the infomercial on FSC and wondering what the fuck? myp2p.com has dried up with their EPL links.

Come on you Reds!

jape said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Spectator said...

Let's keep links to streams a little more on the QT!

jape said...

My bad.

Goat said...

That was no foul on Ade.

Spectator said...

No problem, Jape.

That was a bullshit call on the Arsenal goal. At least Eboue has showed up for this one.

Spectator said...

And right on cue Eboue gets a yellow for yapping at the ref.

Spectator said...

Wow, looks like Eduardo is on the bench along with Arshavin

Goat said...

Eduardo had a bone sticking out of his sock and yet he's back before Rosicky.

Spectator said...

Bleh, Arsenal can't seem to keep possession, and Clichy keeps getting beaten by Lennon on the right.

Goat said...

Spurs can't keep this pace and intensity up.

Goat said...

Speaking of hamstring injuries

jape said...

Oh man - Ade just blew a hammy.

Unknown said...

Could the midfield look worse right now? When Eboue is the best one out there it may be time to really worry. And there goes Ade. This is ugly.

Spectator said...

Oh jesus you've got to be kidding me

Spectator said...

Well, fifth it is

Goat said...

What the hell was that for anyway?

Spectator said...

They just showed the replay... Modric tripped him, and then Eboue lashed out his leg and took down Modric. It was deserved, I'm afraid.

Goat said...

God I hope Arshavin is fit and Eboue never plays again.

Goat said...

It's only a matter of time before Clichy concedes a penalty.

Unknown said...

Any guesses on when we see Arshavin? Has anyone heard anything on his match fitness?

Spectator said...

I'd guess that, if he's on the bench, than he's available. I bet he comes in for the last 15-20 minutes.

The NY Kid said...

Eboue is a complete asshat. What an incredibly stupid thing to do when you're already on a yellow.

And Lennon's pace is killing Clichy.

Unknown said...

Watching the replay of the red, it was definitely deserved. Watching my non-English feed it seemed like he got it for taunting Modric, but that tackle was really bad. That is the Eboue we have come to know.

And I can't wait to see Arshavin. And Eduardo. Really anything to mix it up at this point.

Goat said...

The more I watch Eboue's sending off, the more I want to punch him in the face. The lack of subtlety, the back slapping of Pavs, getting into it with Toure. I don't see how he can be back next year.

The NY Kid said...

Yeah, my feed is in Italian, so I wasn't sure if he got it for the tackle or something he said after, but it was deserved.

And my Italian feed of Eurosport at half-time has discussed NHL, NASCAR, and A-Rod.

jape said...

Halftime question from a yank - what's with the kids heading out with the teams at the beginning of matches? Did they win the local pass, punt and kick competition? The chubby kid who led out Liverpool yesterday made me laugh - he was almost big/old enough to look like a player in his kit.

Spectator said...

@Goat: I agree. Like a schoolkid, he walked away like he'd done nothing wrong, kept patting Modric on the back. The whole thing was just pathetic. He clearly has the physical talent, but Eboue simply doesn't have the temperament (that's putting it nicely) to be at a Premier League club.... or at least at MY Premier League club.

Unknown said...

Alright. 45 minutes, down a man to even have a sniff at the Champions League.

Goat said...

Modric, I mean. The yellow was for kicking Modric while he (Eboue) was on the ground after being fouled.

hockalees said...

Eboue's sending off was ridiculous behavior. They should make him walk home from WHL in his kit. What a tool.

Spectator said...

Well, at least Pavs has no idea where the goal mouth is.

Goat said...

Awful shot from Pavs.

hockalees said...

Who is the color man on Setanta for this game? He's annoying as hell.

Unknown said...

Thank the lord Pavs can't finish. He just abused Kolo on that one.

Unknown said...

C'mon lads, get optimistic! You're playing Spurs!

Van Persie will get plenty of stoppage time at the end to score the winner/equalizer.

Goat said...

Any changes at the half? My feed went down for a couple minutes.

Unknown said...

From the Guardian:

"Sometimes, Wenger is very angry with us but that is normal," Eboué says. "He is like our dad so we try to make him happy, because at the moment it's very difficult for him. We know he is going through too much pressure."

Daddy is not going to be happy.

Goat said...

Eduardo warming up.

hockalees said...

Eduardo is warming up on sidelines according to Setanta.

Goat said...

I admire Aaron Lennon's tenacity...in maintaining his shave eyebrow look.

Unknown said...

Did Robbie just miss a certain goal? No change there, then.

hockalees said...

Pavs and Eli Manning: Separated at birth?

Spectator said...

Spurs' last touch is shockingly awful

Unknown said...

And yeah, I think I will liveblog United/West Ham

Unknown said...

Beware, Darren Bent! One prolific striker being swapped for another!


If you put Pavs/Keane/Bent/Defoe together as one person, they'd be decent. Currently, however, they're all individually useless.

hockalees said...

Corner for Arsenal first in game.

Unknown said...

RvP had a good effort there...

... this game is heading for 0-0.

Unknown said...

Spurs do look like surviving the drop, though. Palacios has given them a decent defensive shape, the likes of which Huddlestone couldn't manage. Frees Modric up to do whatever it is that he does.

Unknown said...

Did everyone fall asleep? Die? Was it something I said?

Spectator said...

How did Song miss that?

Unknown said...

My feed has pulled an Eboue and after a strong start has completely let me down. Any suggestions?

Unknown said...

Gametime: try searching for u stream tee vee. on that site, you can look around

Unknown said...

Corluka off, Chimbonda on... it'll make not a lick of difference.

Unknown said...

Thanks. I just found a new one that seems pretty strong. And in English!

Unknown said...

Bonus! You lucky devil.

jape said...

How long does Wenger wait to sub here - 10 men must be getting tired.

hockalees said...

Dangerous free kick for Spuds

Unknown said...

Mine is French, I think. Their florid language is doing nothing to make this game more attractive, sadly.

Unknown said...

Jape: he must do it soon. What's the harm in 10+ mins of Arshavin? Look at what 15+ mins of that wonderful man Torres was able to do.

hockalees said...

Saved by Almunia.

jape said...

Mines in French too - I find it entirely listenable despite that I don't understand a bit of it.

hockalees said...

So who should we sub for? RvP is consistently our most dangerous player... my vote is Denilson...

Unknown said...

I've just been informed 5 of Arsenals last six league goals have been in the last 10 minutes of matches. There is still hope.

jape said...

I would agree Denilson. He has looked pretty decent today however. Almunia having a nice day as well.

Goat said...

The fine folks in Iraq have some Goals in English although it's been spotty of late.

hockalees said...

Wenger appears to be playing for the draw. Still should sub for Denilson.

Unknown said...

Shit, go big or go home. Midfielder off, Arshavin on. Try to put some pressure on a backline that's known for being not-that-good.

Unknown said...

Arse need three points. Need. A limp draw at WHL does nothing.

hockalees said...

Clichy down with cut to head.

hockalees said...

Gibbs on for Clichy

jape said...

Gibbs - never saw that coming.

hockalees said...

88 minute for those without a feed.

Spectator said...

I saw that Spurs supporter picking his nose!

hockalees said...

4 mins of added time

Goat said...

Modric looks and plays like he's dying of tuberculosis.

Unknown said...

When was Arsenal's last league goal? It feels like a loooong time ago.

Goat said...

That's 2 Song should have had.

hockalees said...

Two huge saves on both ends. Cudicini on Bendter and Alumunia on Modric.

Spectator said...

Huge save by Almunia!

Unknown said...

ALMUNIA!

jape said...

Almunia MOTM for me (barring a late winner...)

hockalees said...

Game. 0-0

Spectator said...

Guess I can't complain about the nil-nil after Eboue's shocker.

Unknown said...

And there it is. Spurs look much improved, but Wenger needs to shake things up a bit.

Come back in 30 for a West Ham/Man U liveblog, if you can handle it. I fear United will score 4 and make all our teams look hopelessly inadequate.

Goat said...

Sucks that the Arse didn't take all 3 but given the way the game played out, they're lucky to take 1.

jape said...

Well the only good thing that can come of this is Eboué gets dropped. Complete tool.

Unknown said...

Spectator: yeah, considering you played an hour with 10 men, not too shabby at all!

Unknown said...

2 points from two matches with spurs. I think catching Villa is a pipe dream. Chelsea on the other hand...

Unknown said...

Jape: it just confuses me more that Wenger didn't use the January window to find more able/competent defensive middies. Instead a months-long romance with Arshavin finally gets resolved, but still... NO COVER IN MIDFIELD?!?!

Goat said...

Jape, I've thought that after several matches this season but he still finds his way into the starting lineup.

Unknown said...

Stay tuned for Man U's workmanlike bullshit in 30 mins

hockalees said...

Well earned point considering. All the blame for this one goes on Eboue's empty head. He gets a little sand in his vagina and then gets himself sent off with his antics.

Ade and Clichy's injuries were killers... forced AW to replace with less skill and I guess he decided he needed his defensive mids more than getting in either Arshavin or Eduardo.

Eboue shouldn't see the pitch the rest of the season.

Spectator said...

Let me just close by saying, Spurs are the most utterly inept team to ever play in the Prem. All that money and they can't even beat a team with ten men, let alone look more threatening than a team with ten men.

jape said...

Goat, you gotta figure he has Wenger's kid tied up in some basement in the Ivory Coast or something.

I was amused by the numerous arsenal blogs outcry when he got booed at the Grove. Here in NJ if you suck you get booed heartily and no fan seems upset by that type of "support".

Spectator said...

Nah, it wasn't so much Arsenal blogs as the pundits who were complaining about the boos.

Oh, and to conclude, I'd rather be five points away from the Champion's League than two points away from relegation.

BentPav said...

Spectator, We had our chances. Alumunia was immense at the end to deny us three pts. You should be happy with the pt. I am not distraught and I disagree with your assesment of Spurs. We have some new players so I think the quality will come soon. The Int'l break will help us as well. Good draw for your lot, 10 men draw is better than being up 4-2 at home with 4 minutes to go and cocking it all up. I would like to say I feel bad about Adebayour and I do for him as he is quality but anything that keeps your lot away from CL is quite alright in my book

EbullientFatalist said...

This is the 05/06 season all over again for Gunners, but with less talent.

Aas for Eboue, I've tried to defend him, but he can fuck himself.