Beef Bagel

It was only moments before I left the Bakery that I first considered the idea that we might not actually win this afternoon’s game. Sure it’s wasn’t a Bolton of Big Face Sam but it was still the same XI that did us at the beginning of last season. So, then why did the point feel like a bit of a let down?

To be fair, after minute or two’s reflection, it didn’t but we were hoping for a bit of kick start today, weren’t we? Bolton on the ropes, a solid away win, three points in a fixture in which we rarely succeed; all sounded like the medicine we needed, didn’t it? It may not have been the elixir we were hoping for but perhaps that slight bad taste in the mouth is from a dose of something that may not have been delicious but was probably good for us in the long run. A point against brutish Bolton may give us some sort confidence in our defence.

Actually, that’s a load of bullshit. A draw at the Reebok isn’t bad at all but there’s not a lot of positives to take. Don’t get me wrong. No need to be down hearted. It’s just another week’s wait before we get this season underway. Let’s hope it doesn’t take too many more.

Interesting to see MJ going back to his first season’s style with his one wing midfield and three best tacklers in the form this time of JJ, Tainio and Didier Zee. In hindsight, Big Bad Tom may have been a better choice than Zokora, despite his goal assist and it would have been nice to have had Bale as an option but check this from our manager on the team and bench selection:

“You have to make certain decisions. You can only have four outfield players on the bench plus a goalkeeper, so you need a defender, a midfielder, a winger and a forward. It was a choice between Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale, Gareth has played a lot of games in the last few weeks and he will get his chance again.”

Now, our bench outfielders were: Bent, Lennon, Huddlestone, Lee but why not choose Bale instead of Lee as the defender, making both Lennon and our left peg wonder available? As it goes I wouldn’t have brought either on personally but then, aren’t managerial decisions easy from the comfort of your own keyboard.

One thing’s for sure now and that’s that wherever the decisions are going to be made, they’re not going to be made by the Special One. Jose’s big fat pay off has come with the proviso that he leaves town never to be seen again, the dollar bills falling from his saddlebags as he goes. According to the Sun, Levy & Co. made 5 calls to Mourinho’s agent with an offer of 5 million a year for a contract of up to, yes, you guessed it, 5 years. Naturally, the board deny this and even called MJ to tell him so. Our Joly Dutch Giant said:

“Daniel Levy phoned me to say it was rubbish and hoped that I would be with him next year. He is always good to me, always backing me.”

Not really sure who was supposed to swallow that one but I doubt that neither MJ nor us the fans would even give it a chew. This, on the other hand, I would like to believe and indeed do lend to it some credence. Berbatov’s been straight with us thus far and in connection with the ever-constant rumours about his leaving, he said:

“Am I happy here? What do you think?”

“Loyalty is important to me and there is a debt to be repaid. Spurs wanted me no matter what - where were these other clubs then?”

“If I leave it’s because I’m no longer wanted. I won’t ask for a move. I’m very settled here.”

And very good to hear it too Dimi but this was the part I really liked:

“After the Arsenal game I couldn’t look anyone in the eye. I was ashamed – I felt I had let everyone down.

“I should have scored after beating the goalkeeper but that was too easy. I wanted to beat the defender as well and score a beautiful goal, not an ugly one. I’m learning my lesson though.”

Why do I like this? 1) He feels our pain, 2) He’s driven, 3) He wants to play beautiful football 4) but he wants to win more. All noble desires and like my mate Charlie, a Yiddo through and through. And just in case you weren’t sure where his allegiances lie, about MJ, he finished with this:

“I am a big fan. I respect him and I will stand by him. I have played under a lot of coaches but he is one of the best.”

Dimitar the Great - love that man.

Before I lay my head down for what little remains of a good night’s sleep, it is my great pleasure to do two things. Firstly if you missed them, or you just want to see them again, here are the goals from the mid-week game against UEFA plankton, Anthropomorphic Fanadjuster, like so…

…lovely but it is my greater pleasure still to announce the Bageliga manager of the month for August and despite my cheating efforts, I and most of you were bested by Mr Mittens and his team, Chim-bondage Gloves. Well played. If you wold care to send me an e-mail with your details to thebagel@beefbagel.com, it’d be my pleasure to send you your prize, a week’s supply of bagels. Round of applause please everyone.
“I gotta go get the bagels, get the bagels.”

The Bagel.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 24th, 2007 at 12:33 am and is filed under Bagel News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.