Hi All,
Our latest podcast is online now.
We discuss:
Fixtures & Results - Premiership Results & International Fixtures

Pub Talk - Sven is up to his old tricks again, Jermain Defoe's ice cream, Neil Warnock, Chelsea, Savage, Speed, Southgate and the FIFA World Player of the Year nominees.

Featured section - Where are the rubbish footballers now? Mark Atkins, Ali Dia, Ali Daei, Paul Butler, Massimo Taibi, Chris Kiwomya and Rafael Schite.

AOB - we finish the show with some listener comments

We hope you enjoy the show.
Download it: http://media.libsyn.com/media/okeydokefootball/odf11Oct07.mp3
Subscribe: http://feeds.feedburner.com/OkeyDokeFootball

Cheers,
Mark
http://www.okeydokefootball.com

So, Henry is gone, and we're mightily glad to see the back of him too.
Despite Arsenal losing one of the best players in the past 15 years in England, some say the 'best foreign import' of all, Arsenal still have a bright future.

It was only 4 months ago that everybody was raving about the Arsenal youth team's demolition job on Liverpool in the Carling Cup and nothing has changed since in that regard. The first team squad is still exceptionally strong, top class players such as Toure, Gallas, Eboue, Rosicky, Fabregas and Van Persie are proof that things are not bleak. Also, Adebeyor is improving by the month, he has great skill, good pace, intelligence on the ball, he only needs to improve his shooting to become a great addition for the Arse. He's only 23 and that will come with time.

Realistically, Wenger has the same problems as he did before the Ego left - he needs to sign quality right and left wingers. Hleb is simply not good enough, too often great moves break down because of his ineptness. Rosicky has been filling in on the left, to little effect, and perhaps Walcott can show more as an outside left, but Wenger needs an immediate solution. Wenger will also hope Diaby can come through properly to add steel in midfield. Gilberto is sure to be named club captain but over the past few years he hasn't shown enough to me that he commands the team and drives them forward.
So, upfront then - a striker is needed, talks of Anelka and Owen would seem to be an easy link to make for the press. More likely is that Wenger will look outside England for a solution. Darren Bent would be ideal, but at 17m pounds, is priced out of the market. Jermaine Defoe, a player who I'm still not convinced about, would surely respond well to a regular run of games, and the manager's skill, but his Spurs association will cost him that chance. Owen needs to prove his fitness this season before a move. Anelka seems most likely to move but Arsenal will surely want someone to rely on for more than a season.
Arsenal don't need any sort of overhaul, they have been 'in transition' for the past seasons, which basically means that Wenger got away with bad signings and players who were too young. They will claim another transition next season, but the correct signings could propel them ahead of Chelsea and Liverpool to battle with United.
Will Wenger buy correctly? Only Arsene knows so far...

Well eh… he’s back. Sven Urine Eriksson is back in football management (according to about 20 football sites anyway) with Man City and could a greater combination have come about. A manager who adores trophy players paired with a side that craves mediocrity, a decent winger and the odd point against United. You can imagine the ‘social networking’ site where they hooked up…

MC: Say it one more time…
Svennis: First half guud…
MC: He’s still got it…
Svennis: Secund half, not so guud…
MC: What do you need?
Svennis: Three million a year, a nice secretary and an LA Galaxy season ticket.
MC: Get onboard!

Sorry about that, but anyway…

Will he attract top players?
Is he still the tactical cripple he was with England?
What will his budget be?
Will he continue to develop City’s quality Academy players?
Will he stay for the full three years?

In many ways it’s a no lose situation for Sven; if he succeeds and rebuilds his reputation then he’ll move on and get a job at a club he actually wants to work with. If he fails, most likely City will have to pay out yet another compensation package to him and his Mr 10 Per Cent, Atole Still.

Eriksson’s record in club management is still decent enough…

Howdy folks,


Mark here.


Well, it really is the summer - when the biggest story of the day is Alexi Lalas, you know you're in trouble.


Lalas, who had a spell in Italy and a successful career for Team USA is now stroking his ridiculous hair over in LA as General Manager of the Galaxy.

He seems to have a french fry on his shoulder about the English Premier League now. He claims it is an "inferior product" and is only the product of great marketing. Lalas goes onto claim that the MLS is one of the most competitive in the world, and then doesn't give any evidence to support this apart from the opinion that a lot of stars would struggle here.

The most illuminating part of the interview, however, is the following, when asked about his facial hair:

"I cleaned up on the outside but I'm still a mess on the inside. For a long time it conveyed a certain immaturity and I milked it all the way. And then I shaved it off in 2000. I was in Sydney, doing some TV work for the Olympics, and it was the end of a long night for me and Anne, my then girlfriend and now my wife.
"We all do strange things when we come in late at night so there's me, the beard, a hotel bathtap and a razor. It looked like surgery. We actually filmed it because it felt like an iconic moment - never before in the history of football has so much been made of so little facial hair. We should probably put it on YouTube, maybe on the day David arrives in Los Angeles. But it'll be Beckham, rather than the beard, that will give us a million hits and more . . ."

The summer does strange things to people, none more so than reading an interview with a fool who I wish had accidentally killed himself with that razor! Perhaps next week we can read interviews from Roy Wegerle and Tab Ramos to experience an exegesis on the cleaning of the fingernails, their shaving routines in general and what they think of the quality of Serie A vis a vis the Bulgarian league. Would Kaka struggle playing for Levski Sofia?

I'd rather read transfer gossip.

Mark,

http://www.okeydokefootball.com