Football Final

Posted on May 20, 2013 by admin

This will be my last football related post now for a while, unless something spectacular happens during the summer like Leeds buying players!!! Anyway I watched the last games on Sunday of the 2012/13 Premier League. This year it was quite bitter sweet with a number of high profile players retiring, the players I knew back when Leeds were up there with the rest of the other great clubs. And of course Sir Alex managing his last ever game, even as a Leeds fan it’s sad to see him go as he was such a force in football.

I reckon with all these retirements football will be pretty boring from now on. You think now Scholes and Carragher are gone, the old style which they both favoured, you know the good stuff like we saw in the 70’s before we became fancy and foreign will be no more. Unfortunately though that doesn’t cut it anymore especially not when playing in Europe, tackling seems to be a big no, no! Plus I think we will be winding down the players we see having their career at just one club, which is a shame, I love lifer players it makes for a great club ethos.

All I can do now is look forward to next season, there will be some challenges ahead, hopefully if we can have a few new players and build a strong squad we could get into the playoff, not been hopeful of automatic promotion! I don’t really consider QPR serious challengers anyway have no idea what they will do about their overpaid team in the Championship! Reading well we have been there before and unless Wigan can keep hold of Martinez then they might not be too hard. Anyway with Cardiff and Hull going up there may be some room for improvement for us to kind of take their places, and we just have to see the play off final to who else goes up.

A Week that was in Football

Posted on May 10, 2013 by HippyDave

Well on Wednesday morning I was watching the news, with a slight hangover and there were rumours on there about the possibility of Sir Alex Ferguson retiring from Manure. Thought at that point I was still in bed and dreaming but then the wife started nagging at me so realised I was awake. Cue a couple of hours later and then there was an official announcement. Old Red Nose is retiring.

As a Leeds fan I am indifferent, probably glad he is gone and now hoping his successor is shit. That been said it took a whole day for said successor to be announced. Poor Everton are losing their long standing (8 years but that’s forever in the grand scheme of the Premier League) manager David Moyes as he will be going to Old Trafford. Luckily for Manure he is out of contract in June so I am sure not too many terms had to be negotiated between the clubs.

He has a six year contract so the club must have some confidence in him, but it must be said old Red Nose won’t be going far as he is becoming a director so I am sure his influence will still be felt. Perhaps that might make it easier for Moyes to move into the role left by Fergie or it might be more of a hindrance. I am a bit annoyed that Leeds won’t be facing United again under Ferguson; our clubs have had some great games we will just have to wait now to get up and face Moyes (hopefully) at the head of Manure!

I think Moyes will stick around there a while, he has a good record and kept Everton consistent despite not having many funds, he is good at working the youth team through (unlike Leeds who just sell youth players). And hopefully for Everton won’t take to many players with him this summer as they have a number of good players in the squad. I just hope they get a great manager who can take them the extra steps forward that they have been unable to in the past.

Anyway I don’t have many plans for this weekend saw that the weather looked poor, probably watch football on TV, Premier League now our season is over, and not sure about the play offs! The wife is out on Saturday night, so I may have an Xbox evening, order some takeaway and play some games I haven’t for a while!

Storming the Sunshine

Posted on May 7, 2013 by HippyDave

This weekend has been pretty great really, been out and about with the wife, enjoyed the garden and had a BBQ and Leeds won.

Saturday we went for a walk around Malham Tarn it’s not the shortest of walks, so it’s good that I have been on the bike recently as my fitness levels weren’t too bad and I didn’t get too tired out. The roads weren’t too busy, but I’m sure if we had made the same trip Sunday or Monday it would be a different matter. There are some great views from Malham Tarn something I studded in high school a good number of years ago. It really is a great walk although maybe not for newbies.

Sunday saw the wife and I chill out at home, the weather was a bit grey but it wasn’t cold so we had a BBQ, as a chill came in, in the early evening we retreated to the garden room for some more wine and beer. Monday followed suit with the Beer as we attended a beer festival. It was only a one day event and because the weather was brilliant it was very busy. But still enjoyed a few pints, just lucky I’m not working today.

We scuppered Watford’s chance of automatic promotion after we beat them 1-2 away from home. We were looking like we were heading for a draw, however in the ninetieth minute McCormick scored to send us ahead. So now Watford head to the playoffs along with Brighton, Crystal Palace and Leicester. Meanwhile Leeds is now left sitting in 13th place this season, unlucky for some, but hopefully not us as we look ahead to next season. News will now turn to summer transfer news as Leeds United have already announced that they will not be offering deals to 10 players. Hopefully after Warnock left us high and dry with a number of games left this season after failing to get us promoted, maybe next season will look better under McDermott, who knows?

Now just to see the end of the Premier League, who’s left to go down and who will get those much coveted Champions League spots. QPR and Reading are defiantly coming back down to the Championship and it also looks like Wigan may be joining them although that is not settled yet. Newcastle, Norwich and Sunderland are all precariously placed and its possible one of these teams could go down, if Wigan. And we all know Wigan like leaving it till the last game of the season to secure their place in the Premier League.

Holiday Shopping

Posted on April 7, 2013 by HippyDave

I very kindly took the wife to Leeds so she could buy some holiday clothes, Trinity shopping centre has only just opened and it was stupidly busy, I hated it, but obviously the wife loved it. My credit card got a right thrashing, but I did get some stuff for myself.

I must say I did much prefer shopping undercover now in Leeds, although it wasn’t raining it was a lot more sheltered although a breeze still runs through. But I did feel really crowded I don’t know whether that was because it was the weekend and so busy or because the walkways are narrower.

Because I was busy shopping in Leeds, I didn’t see Leeds get beat away by Charlton, they now go above us as we slide further down. We are currently still managerless and the fact that Warnock left still smarts many of the fans who feel like he just abandoned us because he couldn’t get us into the playoffs and promoted. I know he said he would leave if he didn’t achieve that but he could have stayed till the end of the season.

We are now floundering and we could go into the relegation area if we don’t win any more games. And judging by our past runs when we had a manager, it is quite possible. Next Saturday we are at home hosting Sheffield Wednesday another team below us and not a team we can afford to lose points to at this stage.

Just one last note, tomorrow night sees a Manchester Derby, as a Leeds fan I don’t really care who wins as I don’t like either of those teams. But Currently Manure are sat 15 points clear of Citeh and if Manure win that will take them 18 points clear. That been said even if Citeh beat Manure, they won’t catch them in the remaining games.

The End Is Nigh

Posted on April 2, 2013 by HippyDave

I’m sure you can all guess what I going to talk about today, not what I got up to this bank holiday weekend, who wants to hear about that when we have the news that Neil Warnock has left Leeds!! From the title of this post the end is nigh for Leeds this season, no chance of getting into the playoffs, now only the possibility of falling down the table unless the players pull their fingers out.

It took a whole two hours for Warnock to leave the club after our 2-1 defeat by Derby, he always said, that if he couldn’t get the club promoted he would leave which I suppose is fine, I just thought he would stick it out till the last game. Currently we are five points away from the relegation zone with only six games left we could fall into that zone.

Our next game is against Charlton, they sit below us in 16th place, two points behind with a game in hand, and then we play Sheffield Wed who are just out of the relegation zone on 47 points another club with a game in hand. We also have Burnley, who are currently a point behind and the Birmingham who are on the same points as us. The penultimate game sees us play Brighton who are currently in the playoff zone and then the final game of the season is against Watford another team in the playoff zone. Both the final games will be tough, but so will the games against Birmingham and Burnley because neither of those clubs will want to drop points so close to the end. Plus The Sheff Wed game will be another toughie if they are trying to distance themselves from the relegation zone.

I think it will be a struggle for us; we haven’t been on form recently, losing the last three games. I doubt anyone new will come in until next season, Leeds academy manager Neil Redfearn will take charge for now, until they find a successor but I just can’t see that happening until we can see where we will finish this season, hopefully not in the relegation zone.

To be fair, this finished off my bank holiday on a sour note, other than enjoying the great outdoors and a decent Sunday lunch at a nice village pub I had to do without Easter Eggs as the wife stopped me from gorging on chocolate, in an attempt to keep me healthy. However as its now Tuesday we are into a new week and month, and apparently we are now into a new healthy living phase too, which means I will be getting back on my (exercise) bike!

F1 Fisticuffs (Well Sort of)

Posted on March 25, 2013 by HippyDave

The winner’s podium after Sundays F1 in Malaysian GP looked about as cheerful as someone being sent down. Well the winner and second placed anyway. It all started, at the end of the race, world champion Sebastian Vettel ignored team orders not to overtake team-mate Mark Webber who was on his way to victory.

Team orders do have a habit of fracturing teams, on Sundays F1 Mercedes also had some bad blood, when Nico Rosberg was told to back off and allow Lewis Hamilton to finish in third place. Team orders are normally strategic, depending on where team mates are in ranking and towards the end of the game. Those further back than their team mate, can be used to slow down other teams rather than concentrating about finishing further ahead.

In fact Webber normally gets shoved into those roles so that Vettel can cruise to victory. But this time Webber was ahead so perhaps the team thought that it was better for Webber to stay forward and Vettel, to ‘guard’ his position. Unfortunate Vettel does not diligently follow orders like his team mate does.

There was already a pretty frosty relationship their between both team mates, which has been on-going since they crashed into each other back in 2010 Turkish Grand Prix whilst they were both battling for pole.

I think it’s a shame that his decision to be ultimate selfish had such a negative impact on the race. I do think though, however that team orders have made the game, tamer, well from a viewer’s point of view. The team orders tend to fall on the side of safety rather than competitive racing which we have seen in the past.

One amusing highlight from the race was when Lewis Hamilton drove into the wrong pit, obviously thinking he was still at McLaren.

Thinking of Getting Away

Posted on March 18, 2013 by HippyDave

This weather is really starting to get me down, I am really sick of the cold; wet and murkiness we have had for what seems like an eternity. Thought maybe I would just book a five day trip to Vegas, but not all the guys could afford it at the moment. We were talking in the pub on sat, but things like heating bills, food bills and the cost of fuel are hitting those who still work.

To be fair the heating bills are hitting us too, usage is creeping back up again as I check my online account. Having accesses online is great, you can keep track of what you use and how much it will cost you a lot more. But it does want me to turn down my heating to save money. I wear about three layers already at home as does the wife, can’t wait till summer when I get to see her back in the skimpy outfits. Even in bed there is no sexy lingerie plaid pj’s at the moment instead.

Anyway with the guys out for a winter break I may just treat the wife. I planned on booking a transatlantic cruise for her birthday, which is what she wanted, but she wants to take that in November, not April when her birthday is. This is because she wants to do some Christmas shopping. Anyway maybe this get away could be a birthday treat, which would be good as I haven’t got a bloody clue what to get the woman who has everything.

Just not sure where to go? Caribbean perhaps?

To be honest I can’t be arsed to follow Leeds anymore this season, all they do is fill me with disappointment. They are particularly shite at the moment, losing against Huddersfield on Saturday. We were looking at a draw after equalising, but our slow defence let them get ahead in the 86th minute which didn’t give us much time to make it up. So we are still in 10th, with the grasp of playoffs slipping further and further away. Our next game is away at Ipswich on the 30th March so we have a bit of time to recoup whilst Internationals are on.

In the Premier League it looks like Citeh are losing their grip on keeping the title, not that I doubted it. They were lucky last season to win against Manure, who in my opinion after catching the weekends game highlights against Reading was also pretty poor. Such a boring game there Manure played pretty poorly no real passion at the moment. But when the title win is pretty much tied up why would you do anything spectacular. Boring this season if you ask me. Glad Leeds isn’t in it, mainly because we’d probably get relegated again!

Football Feuds

Posted on March 13, 2013 by HippyDave

After the FA cup tie between Manure and Chelski, Old Red Nose Sir Alex and Rafa ‘I’ll never go to Chelsea’ Benitez have started up another feud. It’s been a while since these two have been duelling, long since Rafa’s Liverpool says; Old Red Nose hasn’t really had any formidable managerial enemies. And since Benitez joined Chelski these two kept it civil. But that all changed on Sunday when Fergie refused to shake Rafa’s hand after the 2 all draw.

Rafa said: “It’s his decision I was ready and waiting [to shake], I have some education. I was waiting; I have education because I know that a lot of people are watching so I know what I have to do.”

To be fair Fergie probably had more on his mind than hand shaking he was probably heading straight to the changing rooms to give his players the hair dryer treatment no doubt for their shocking performance during the second half.

I should have had a bet on these too getting into it again after Rafa’s absence from the premier League. Not a week would go by with some sort of verbal altercation in the press between these two. I knew soon as Rafa was appointed the bad blood would be stirred up again. This time I would have made some money!

I have been on a bit of a losing streak recently so could have done with a bet like that coming in! I have changed where I play my casino games this week in an effort to counteract all the bad luck I have been having with the site I was using! So far on Coral Casino I have been okay, no massive wins but at least no massive loses! Hopefully I can recoup some losses before the wife notices, or at least before her birthday, no doubt she will want something extravagantly expensive. However I will be saving some money as I have stopped playing the National Lottery.

Anyway, more football yet to come, hopefully Leeds will pull their socks out and also Arsenal won’t be their usual rubbish self’s in the Champions League tonight.

Lazy Leeds

Posted on March 11, 2013 by HippyDave

Not much to report this weekend was a bit too cold to be outside, and the rain on Saturday meant I confined myself to my games room, playing Crysis 3. Time well spent if you ask me. I kept abreast of the Leeds game though.

We haven’t built on our Millwall wine, only drawing with Leicester and Crystal palace, so we are still languishing in 10th place. I am not that hopeful now of making it to the playoffs; we have Peterborough tomorrow night, then Huddersfield and Ipswich, in March. Not the hardest teams, but we don’t seem to have much power at the moment. Peterborough is in the relegation zone so could be hard to play and Ipswich isn’t much further away, both teams there have a lot to lose. Hopefully Huddersfield won’t be too hard.

On another note, the FA Cup tie Manure and Chelski was a good game, thought Manure would run away with it but after the second half they decided not to turn up! Thus Chelski equalised, and they nearly got a winner in the last minute but Manures saving grace De Gea nipped it out of the way. Very lucky, that poor keeper has to really work hard! Anyway they get to play again and the winner will play unsurprisingly Citeh. Boring, but at least one of the PL teams will play a Championship team if Blackburn or Millwall beat Wigan. I have a feeling that Citeh will get through, to be fair Manure and Chelski can be equally rubbish at times! Hard to call at the moment.

I noticed that the release of SimCity has been rubbish, server problems, honestly why games manufacturers think DRM loading ever works. Millions of people having to log on to play single player will probably crash even the best servers. Why they think this will ever be a good thing is beyond me, I can see console games moving this way too, so not just to play multiplayer games. They say it’s to stop piracy but it’s just to control us, and make it so we have to buy endless add on just to enjoy game play.

I did note some reviews for SimCity stated that it’s a lot smaller than previous versions and should be call SimVillage. I reckon like the Sim games it’s so they can sell you extra content so you can keep playing. Thieving buggers, anyway I will be avoiding it now!

Weekend in the sun!

Posted on March 4, 2013 by HippyDave

I have had a busy weekend this weekend, with the good weather to the end of last week I have been out in the garden, tidying and planting a few plants as well as sorting out a small vegetable plot. On Saturday the wife and I were able to get out our garden furniture and sit out for a bit on our decking. We didn’t get to enjoy it that much last year, thanks to a rubbish summer, so it was nice to be able to sit out and see the house and garden from a different perspective.

Saturday afternoon/evening saw the guys and I celebrating Leeds win over Millwall, we only won 1-0 but it was good enough, my mate Keith went to the game, said the atmosphere from the Leeds Fans was fantastic, not so much Millwall as hardly any turned up! We do need to be getting more goals in though, Saturdays only goal came from a penalty and although any goal is good would have like to see us strike some in the net. We had quite a few shots and more on target than Milwall, but nothing was converted. Next time hopefully. Speaking of next time we face Leicester on Tuesday (away) and then away again on Saturday down to Crystal Palace. We really need to build on points and goals if we are going to get into the playoffs. However I won’t be holding my breath!

On Sunday I had a day of rest which meant catching up playing Crysis 3, a review of which I will put on in a day or so. I also watched the Tottenham Arsenal game, the first half was actually quite boring, apart from the two Tottenham goals being scored. The reason I thought it was boring, was that Arsenal didn’t seem to show up. Defence was poor not marking very well nor keeping up with the pace of Bale and Lennon. There were only two minutes between both goals and Arsenal I think had dozed off at that point! After the break, and probably a massive bollocking from an anxious Wenger, Arsenal found some more pace and the ability to defend

The second half was much better, end to end, unfortunately injury scuppered Tottenham at times with Adebayor being stretchered off. In the end Arsenal only got one goal back from Mertesacker, but one thing for sure, they are missing something. Oh Yeah RVP! Anyway Tottenham move above Chelsea into third which is pretty good, you never know if Bale keeps on his scoring streak Tottenham could catch up Citeh. Anyway you can catch some Wenger mumblings on the defeat here on the BBC.

Resident Hippy

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