[football]prediction league #14, just one day long (wednesday) and all internationals

[1-X]

I'll do the final update etc tomorrow as paraguay-brazil is 01:40, mexico-costa rica is 05:00 and uruguay - venezuela is ??:??

it's pretty clear who the winner is anyway. [EDIT: WELL DONE ZHARKOV BTW! ] It's a scandal, a disgrace and it's just not fair. I used to win these leagues. I was top of the league of leagues. I was predictor of the month last month, and now look at me, I score lower than chance ffs, even when I fix the league with stupid teams, have all teams gone crazy, why are they playing wrong suddenly? how much is zharkov paying them?

[Stew]

It's just not cricket is it?!

Bloody hell - how many points Zharkov ffs?!

[Deffeh]

I couldnt possibly have been happier with my start though. Thats so badass - three games, 9 points

[1-X]

first and last time it'll ever happen, probably

[Deffeh]

Smoke me <3.

[lokken]

oi Deffeh, did Richard Hughes play for Scotland tonight?

[Deffeh]

No.

Gallagher (played crud) Dailly (played dirty and shockingly) Pressley (gave away second goal) Caldwell (got taken to pieces, no concept of defending) Alexander (made one good block, no invention otherwise) McCann (played ok at times, cant cross to save himself, gave ball away often) Rae (shit. distribution terrible) Cameron (fell about all over the shop, might have slided in about 15 times tonight and didnt come away with the ball once) Kennedy (never got a chance because that prick ganae STAMPED on him and he has ligament damage) Thompson (terrible.) Miller (ran right at people).

Subs
Crainey (came on for Kennedy, showed why kennedy is still at celtic and he isnt) Crawford (never had time to **** up anything) McFadden (absolutely fan ****ing tastic)

Seriously, thats one of the worst scotland performances ive ever seen. We were terrible as a team, we were terribly shaped, we were terrible individually. And despite all the drop outs and injuries, James McFadden STILL didnt start. And what happens? He comes on, scores a brilliant solo goal, directs play, gets it right up the romanians (him and a romanian fell over and jamesy didnt like it. he kneeled over the guy and put his arms out in the air at his side so the ref saw he wasnt touching him at all and swore at him till the romanian grabbed his shirt) and actually provides us with an Outlet

Sometimes the future for scotland looks bright to me. A Fletcher / Pearson / McFadden / Ferguson midfield on form is pretty much of a great international standard. We have a keeper coming through who kept a clean sheet in the Nou Camp in one of the most impressive keeping displays in the last 10 years. We have john kennedy, alan hutton, chris burke, shaun maloney, coming through, a couple of not bad right and left backs with experience in mcnamara and naysmith. Sure, we have **** all up front unless we play Jamesy there just now, but at the moment we can not only not score goals, we cant defend them either.

Vogts needs to go. He doesnt know what hes doing, and even he is looking for excuses now. he sounds like a certain mr houllier.,

[lokken]

I can vouch for Hughes either in the middle or the left - reliable, not let us down once, keeps it simple, keeps his cool and can tackle as well.

Hardly 'creative' but useful nonetheless.

[Deffeh]

Then he should get his game. Ive never seen him play. Ive never realised there was a hughes at you guys that was actually scottish. Fact is i dont think he can possibly be any worse than anyone we play just now. I dont mean that flippantly, its true. Weve called up pretty much every Scot on the planet. I think Berti has now used 52 or so different players since he became manager just a couple of years ago.

Its not that i dont believe we dont have the foundations of a team Deep down im optimistic. David Marshall and Craig Gordon will push each other all the way in the next few years for the Scotland #1 jersey and neither look like theyll let us down. Paul Gallagher and Graeme Smith are pretty handy keepers too. Dailly and Pressley have the experience to pass down to some other players such as Webster, Kennedy, Ross, Crainey, Hammell, in defence. From those 5 players im hopeful at least 2 will make decent defenders. Hammell i'd have out on the left, he can learn well from Naysmith who is an adequate left back and one of our most consistent performers. Jackie McNamara captained celtic in the Nou Camp - i think hes experienced enough to pass the right back role onto whoever comes on the scene (finally?). Ive already spoken about the midfield, and upfront.. well, we'll just have to see who develops into what quality of player.

For me though;

Scotland XI today if everyones fit :

GK Douglas
RB McNamara
LB Naysmith
CB Pressley
CB Dailly
LM Pearson
CM Ferguson
CM C. Miller
RM McCann
FW McFadden
FW Crawford

4 years time

GK Marshall
DL Hammell
DR Hutton *
DC Kennedy
DC TBC (Provisionally : Webster, presuming he learns from Pressley at Hearts)
ML Pearson
MR Burke
MC Ferguson
MC Fletcher
FW TBC (Provisionally : David Clarkson, Shaun Maloney, Paul Gallagher, Kevin Kyle, Derek Riordan, Kris Boyd, whoever stays freest of injuries and becomes the most consistent)
FW McFadden

* - (I'd say Ross, but Rangers's Alan Hutton has impressed me more than ross ever did already, he was one of two players to play well against us on sunday imho)

Its not all bad. Its just really, really, really bad just now

[1-X]

Originally Posted by Deffeh

that prick ganea

we quite like him at wolves but then we liked Muscat too
Vogts shouldn't have written off Alex Rae. He's got no hair, but we don't care.

Ganea, Miller and Cameron all playing crap doesn't bode well for Saturday when the glorious comeback starts

[Deffeh]

Muscat was a thug. Ganae's stamp was uncalled for and unpunished. A Young rising star who just helped mark ronaldinho out of the game at the nou camp has just been injured for most likely the rest of the season and a bit of next season. Forgive me for not liking ganae :S

[1-X]

I haven't seen it so I can't really comment. Match reports refer to a late and desperate challenge, but don't mention a stamp.

[1-X]

uruguay 0 - 3 venezuela
paraguay 0 - 0 brazil

100% table [32/32]

		X	G	Pts
Zharkov		9	11	38
Deffeh		8	9	33
lokken		6	12	30
Non.Human	6	11	29
JonnyBGood	6	9	27
Reidy		4	14	26
Ragnarak	5	11	26
Koen		4	11	23
Lupin		4	10	22
midge5		3	11	20
Stew		3	11	20
1-X		1	13	16
Kurashima	1	13	16
Apothos		2	10	16
Obliterate	1	11	14
LHC		2	7	13

prediction league #15 starts saturday and "TNG" league matches too!

[Apothos]

Poo. :/

[Nondescript Human]

I'm third!!!!

More random games in future plz

[Reidy]

McFadden and Kyle should play up front for scotland, kyle is the ideal man unless big duc comes back. Did any1 else notice that northern islands kits were all far too big?

[Deffeh]

Originally Posted by Reidy

McFadden and Kyle should play up front for scotland, kyle is the ideal man unless big duc comes back. Did any1 else notice that northern islands kits were all far too big?

Duncan Ferguson is a thug and i dont want to see him in a Scotland jersey. Kevin Kyle was so bad in a Scotland Jersey that he became the laughing stock of the nation, and more importantly, of these forums.

I hear hes got better now, but he couldnt have been much worse.

Also, i dont understand why McFadden doesnt play every single game ever for Everton. Hes awesome. They suck. Its no coincidence they're doing pants

[Reidy]

I disagree. Everton are crap because they have killer zidane in their team Seriously, loosing Yobo to the african nations harmed them more, plus they achieved above perhaps their true level last season. As for kyle, he buys time for his team mates something a relatively poor team like scotland needs, playing crawford makes the forward line too light weight for my taste. I like Duncan, he cost the scum a hell of alot of money

[Stew]

Mexico 2 Costa Rica 0 is that last result btw...

(+1 for me!)

[Deffeh]

Originally Posted by Reidy

I disagree. Everton are crap because they have killer zidane in their team Seriously, loosing Yobo to the african nations harmed them more, plus they achieved above perhaps their true level last season. As for kyle, he buys time for his team mates something a relatively poor team like scotland needs, playing crawford makes the forward line too light weight for my taste. I like Duncan, he cost the scum a hell of alot of money

I agree, i do like the combination of a target man with some height and strength (sutton, ferdinand esque character) with someone with a bit of flair and pace. If you dont have a physical presence up front you pretty much waste most balls your gonna throw in the box. Kyle has yet to prove to me that he can do anything though, but its got to such a state that id even give the infamous KK another shot.

Oh, and we Scots love McFadden. Just as in the same way you english love gerard - both are strong, both play with their heart on their sleeve, both arent afraid to make tackles, both arent afraid to get right in the face of the opponents. Gerrard is world class and McFadden isnt, but could be. What they both have is that when they pull on their countries shirt, they have the nations confidence that they wont give a half hearted effort.

I wish i could play him as playmaker, left wing, right wing, striker, forward.. whatever position we try to play him in hed work, and would be the best player for that position. Should maybe start singing "Unfortunately theres only one james mcfadden, one james mcfaaaaaaaaaadden"

[1-X]

Predictor of the Month for March is.... ZHARKOV

Only these six are worthy of listing

                Pld	X	G	Pts	Rating
*1* Zharkov	142	20	59	119	 838
 2  Deffeh	142	21	52	115	 810
 3  MrL_JaKiri	110	13	44	83	 755
 4  JonnyBGood	142	19	47	104	 732
=4  Ragnarak	142	16	56	104	 732
 5  Lokken	119	15	41	86	 723

The rest of you, I mean us, suck at consistency.

League of Leagues Top 10

Apr01 Feb29              
 01    02   Zharkov	768 +32
 02    05   Deffeh	738 +63
 03    06   Ragnarak	693 +26
 04    03   Stew	690 -27
 05    09   JBGood	685 +30
 06    04   midge5	677 -18
 07    07   Lupin	670 +5
 08    01   1-X	        663 -72
 09    14   MrL	        662 +65
 10    10   Blastoderm  649 -3

[JC]

I missed this league cos of a stupid virus .

[1-X]

illness or computer?

[JC]

My computer was ill .

[Stew]

Could have been worse, could have been you....

[Reidy]

Originally Posted by 1-X

we quite like him at wolves but then we liked Muscat too
Vogts shouldn't have written off Alex Rae. He's got no hair, but we don't care.

Ganea, Miller and Cameron all playing crap doesn't bode well for Saturday when the glorious comeback starts

Muscat is a fecking nutter Kevin Ball and John Kay are the hardest players i've ever seen tho.