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| Mount up, buttercup, it's time to see what's in the news. |
In case you missed the news that Ed mentioned in passing yesterday, the Blackpool match on Boxing Day looks likely to be postponed. Adjust your travel plans accordingly.
And remember, for every person who looks for a silver lining by saying it could mean Hodgson will be gone by the time the rescheduled game rolls around, its equally easy to find a charred and smoldering lining in that every postponed match makes it more likely Hodgson will have a hand in at least a couple of January transfers. So, swings and roundabouts and missed connections as we all cross our fingers that the club can somehow navigate its way through the current predicament. Maybe they could use Ryan Babel's helicopter to fly Roy home for Christmas and then just leave him there. Whatever does happen, try to remember that while you may not be crazy, with the way things are going you're sure as hell getting there...
* First it was a weak squad left to him by Benitez, then it had more strength than perhaps Hodgson had realised and didn't need overhauling in January, and this week in "But it's always somebody else's fault!" we're back somewhere far closer to the former. Oh, and Hodgson would once again like the funds in January so he can properly "make his stamp" on the club. "I took the team over and I have not made that many changes," he says. "I brought in Paul Konchesky to play left-back, Raul Meireles to replace Javier Mascherano and Joe Cole came in at the same time as me, as did Christian Poulsen."
So one good buy and three abject failures? As Ed said on teh Twitters (Follow us today!), when you base your argument on Konchesky and Poulsen being good, then you're pretty much fucked. Guess Roy just needs the funds to make it right by signing up Carlton Cole once New Year's rolls around. Don't ask me why, but six bucks and my right nut says that'd just be adding another mark to the "abject failure" column.
* Meanwhile, KopTalk says that after issuing an ultimatum to big cheese Moratti at Inter to either back him or sack him, it's looking increasingly likely that "sack" will be Rafa's Christmas present from the Italian club in the wake of winning the Club World Cup. They also suggest that along with Porto's rising star Villas-Boas, Benitez is on the shortlist of managers being seriously considered by Henry and NESV as potential replacements for Hodgson, and whatever your view on either Benitez or Villas-Boas, you have to like the sound of "replacement for Hodgson." In related news, I can't remember if KopTalk is half-way reliable or not, and for that I blame the demon liquor and also the fact that I only tend to remember completely useless information. Like that Houdini died from getting punched in the gut. Though I could have heard wrong on that last bit--the guy who told me was a bit of a... unique individual.
* And if you're stuck in Wichita and looking to kill a bit of time, the Liverpool Echo is doing a 12 Days of Christmas schtick with a Liverpool twist, and a good entry was their look back on seven great number sevens who played for the club: Dalglish, Keegan, Beardsley, Callaghan, McManaman, Smicer, and Liddell. It makes for quite a legacy, even if I'm not sure Smicer's quite in the same league as the others. I suppose he likely would have deserved an honourable mention in any case, and "Six Great Number Sevens" just doesn't have quite the same ring to it. Also, somehow, Kewell and Keane didn't make the cut.
Well, I'm gonna go occupy myself with some tequila and Doritos while hoping that one way or another we fucking get Roy fucking Hodgson the fuck out of the fucking club right fucking now. In the meantime, remember, you've still got a few days to go so there's really no need to start doing your holiday shopping yet...