Here's Hoping
Tuesday, 22 April 08, 11:10 AM
I've been told by doctors and surgeons that I have the energy of ten men who have normal jobs.”
Now, some may think to themselves that this either a quote from Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard, such is their confidence in their own magnificence. It is in fact a quote from the god of
nutjobs, Gary Busey. He of Point Break fame and general lunacy. But this confidence of having strength beyond mere mortals is no doubt
common among footballers. Glenn Helder is surely not the only narcissist to have found fame on the football field and in
the next two days there’s an awful lot of players who believe, or are told by hungry hacks each week, that they are God’s gift to football.
And why should we doubt the hype, after all between the four teams left in the Champions League they contain some of the highest earning players on the planet – from Messi to Eto’ooooo, from
Lamps to JT, from $tevie Me to Torres, and Ronaldo to Rooney – all of whom have staked claims to be either the best player in the world outright or at least one of the finest in their chosen
position.
The double header of Champions League semi finals – both first and second legs – are pretty much the finest entertainment on TV all year when things go well and as fans we should all hope that
at the very least we get some decent games here. These are after all, the four sides who have dominated the Champions League in the last few seasons (Chelsea – 3 semi finals; Pool one title;
one final; one semi final; Man United 2 semi finals and Barca 1 title), so in theory, were one to ignore the actual snorefest that Pool v Chelsea generally is, we could have some great action
afoot.
So, let’s hope there’s no shit on a stick at Anfield or the Bridge; let’s pray for no arguments about whether Ronaldo is a big game player or not (as he will prove his doubters wrong at some
stage with the scary amount of talent he has); and let’s all cross our fingers for some decent action between four sides with the pedigree to warrant being called the four best in European
football this season.
No predictions, as I’ll get them horribly wrong (okay can’t resist… 2-0 Pool, 1-1 at the Nou Camp), but fuck it let’s just enjoy these games and hope something resembling the following action
occurs in these four hugely hyped games in the next week.
Torres v Arsenal
Rooney v Newcastle
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ODF 14 Mar Podcast Online
Friday, 14 March 08, 05:10 AM
Hi All,
Our latest podcast is online now.
We discuss:
Results from the FA Cup, Premier League, Champions league & UEFA Cup (phew) and we preview the games over the coming week
Pub Talk - All the news - Lampard, Bradley Wright-Philips, Gillet, Lehmann, Roger Johnson, Defections and more
Featured Section - we discuss the players who were supposed to be the next big thing, containing many 'wing wonders' and a few 'fox in the box's....
Comments from the Blog
Hope you enjoy the show,
Mark & JJ
http://okeydokefootball.blogspot.com/
Download it or Subscribe to the feed
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2007 Okey Doke Football Awards Categories
Friday, 14 December 07, 05:32 AM
So here are the major categories:
Best & Worst Premiership Player
Best & Worst Premiership Transfer so far this season - 1. Value for Money 2. Overall
Most Liked & Most Hated Player
Best Goal
Best Match
Hopes for the new year (entries such as 'I hope Liverpool/United win xx' will not be accepted)
Best & Worst Moment
We are primarily a Premiership podcast, so we will be concentrating on awards there, but if you're a continental football buff, feel free to supply your corresponding nominations.
We will also have some other offbeat, one off awards, similar to last year's show. For example, David Moyes won the 'Manager that looks most like a homeless crack addict' award last year.
We reserve the right to veto scurrilous nominations, but we will mention it in the podcast if we do.
We were going to include nominees but it might influence the voting so you are on your own.
Please email your suggestions to comments@okeydokefootball.com rather than posting a comment on this blog, in order to keep the suspense.... However please comment below with any categories you think should be included
Thanks,
Mark
Okey Doke Football Podcast is available every Friday morning, subscribe here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/OkeyDokeFootball
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Okey Doke Football Podcast 13 Dec Online
Thursday, 13 December 07, 06:57 AM
Our latest podcast is online now.
We discuss:
Fixtures & Results: Premiership & Champions League
Pub Talk: Capello, Gerrard, Barnes, Rooney's musk, Chelsea, Bangura Watch Day 41, McClaren, Terry Butcher, Traore, Ossie Ardiles, Kaladhze, and a blimp.
Featured Section: The Legend of Dennis Bergkamp. See his hat-trick at Leicester, his goal in the quarter final of the 98 World Cup against Argentina, and his class goal against Newcastle
AOB: We finish the show with some comments
Don't forget to email us with thoughts for our end of year show - best player, most hated, etc. and anything that has struck you in football this year - comments@okeydokefootball.com
We hope you enjoy the show.
Download it: http://media.libsyn.com/media/okeydokefootball/odf13Dec07.mp3
Subscribe: http://feeds.feedburner.com/OkeyDokeFootball
Cheers,
Mark
http://www.okeydokefootball.com/
http://okeydokefootball.blogspot.com/
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The Old Hammer Trick, Eh?
Tuesday, 11 December 07, 07:56 AM
Liverpool played poorly against Reading and will need to be at the top of their game tonight to resist the French. Djibril Cisse and Boudewijn Zenden, despite being in and out of the team so far this season, would be expected to make the classic old boy revenge (and I'm not talking about ripping teeth out with a hammer, as in the film Old Boy). Cisse has been rightly castigated for being rubbish season, and Niang has instead been providing threat up front. Valbuena has provided creativity and their league form is slowly coming around.
Marseilles manager Eric Gerets said: "It will be a fast-paced match and in my opinion, Liverpool are going to try to pass the ball around three times quicker than they did on the first match between us".
It must be a mis-translation, I'm sure he meant 3 times further, eh, Stevie G?
Rafa Benitez says it's the most important game of the season so far, and he's right, but there's a lot more of them to come over the coming months, especially for a man under fire like he is.
Liverpool have scored 22 goals in their last six games and should go into this game with confidence, the Reading result not withstanding. Carragher, Torres and Gerrard should be well rested after their 70 mins on Saturday, and providing Ricky Hatton didn't keep them up too long I am predicting Liverpool to get the result they need, a win. Liverpool should play with "controlled fury"* and at great pace, and Marseilles should have no answer. Any other approach and I fear the Pool could be in big trouble.
Either way it should be a great game of football, and I'm most interested in seeing what hairstyle Cisse is sporting and whether Zenden has learnt how to control a football.
In the other games tonight:
FC Porto v Besiktas - 2-0. Porto should have enough quality for the win to see them through
Chelsea v Valencia, - 2-0. Valencia seem to be a shambles. It's called Karma, Koeman!
Schalke 04 v Rosenborg, 2-1. Schalke have done well this far, the dream ends for the Norwegians.
Olympiakos v Werder Bremen and Real Madrid v Lazio. All 4 teams can qualify but Real are a certainty, 2-0, and I've a sneaky feeling Werder could win in Greece, but the smart money is on a draw that will send Olympiakos through: 1-1.
Enjoy,
Mark.
The Okey Doke Football Podcast is available every Friday morning, subscribe here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/OkeyDokeFootball
* Copyright Stephen Hunt
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On Revie vs Clough