Breezeblog

You won’t see a funnier goal than this all season .. especially as it’s at mighty Real Madrid’s expense and gave Getafe their first-ever win at the Bernabeu. The Guardian’s excellent La Liga man Sid Lowe takes up the story: “The clock showed 62.59 when Arjen Robben put Raúl’s ball into the net. Racing to the corner, he leapt in the air celebrating. A crowd of team-mates joined him, jumping on board and somehow managing not to injure him. Unfortunately, they also managed not to see the linesman standing right next to them, his arm raised like Prince Harry at a fancy dress party. Over in the middle, Raúl and Ruud van Nistelrooy were busy scratching their heads, when a bemused look came across Robben’s face. The referee had (rightly) disallowed the goal for offside. David Belenguer took the free-kick quickly and Francisco Casquero was through a midfield as gloriously uninhabited as José Antonio Reyes’s head. A ball to Pablo Hernández, a return to Ikechukwu Uche, a first-time finish and Getafe were one up.”

Sorry the blog’s been quiet … was away in nut-freezing Toronto having a spot of Lasik work (I really can see for miles and miles now) and then spent a busy week or so catching up with work.Just catching my breath after a nerve-wracking Carling Cup final. I’m not a Spurs fan but I was glad to see them win it – and it makes a nice change for the big four to miss out. They may well be shaping up into a half-decent side under Ramos and it was good to see Woodgate and King (who were absolutely solid throughout) get some reward after all their problems.But what is wrong with teams like Chelsea who seem incapable of accepting defeat graciously? They didn’t play well, and deserved to lose on the day.Chelsea coach Avram Grant even criticised ref Mark Halsey for having the temerity to blow the final whistle while Chelsea were on the attack.  “I have never seen such a thing in my life and I have never before seen the referee finish a match when this situation is happening,” he whined to the BBC.    He obviously never saw the 1978 World Cup game  between Brazil and Sweden when Welsh referee Clive Thomas blew the whistle while a corner-kick was being taken. Zico headed it into the Swedish net, but Thomas disallowed the goal claiming that he had whistled while the ball was in the air!  

So Newcastle bit the bullet and parted company with Big Sam.  As bad as I feel for my disillusioned, long-suffering Geordie friends for the sorry state of their club, it does provide an excuse for an old Sam joke: 

A TV reporter goes up North and interviews Roy Keane and Sam Allardyce. First of all he speaks to Roy Keane, “So Roy, what are your hopes for Sunderland this season?”   

Roy replies, “Well, if we can pick up a few points here and there, hopefully we can stay in this division.” 

Then the reporter turns to Sam, “So Sam what are your hopes for Newcastle this season and in the future?”  

Sam replies, “Well, we’ll walk the Premiership, win the championship and FA Cup along the way, then we’ll win the Champions League…” 

At this point the TV reporter interrupts, “Err…Sam, don’t you think you’re being a bit over ambitious there?””Well, Keane started it!” replied Sam. 

 The next joke will be if they appoint MacLaren. Even Newcastle aren’t that stupid, are they?