ZZZZ

You can get the Airtrain ($7) from JFK to Jamica and switch there and get the subway (E train) ($2.25) straight to the Port Authority. All in about one hour.

I understand that but the argument was made that because these are the quality of the players we are being linked with it is understandable Torres wants out

Torres is getting over a hundred grand a week. Injured or not, he has collected that on a weekly basis. The club have stood by their part of the deal. He should stand by his. And, mentioning the quality of the players we have been linked with as an excuse is wrong in my opinion. Show me another team, other than City, who have brought in big signings better than a Young, Adam and Suarez ?

Grumbling on towards an inevitable conclusion The establishment's choice to be Liverpool boss, Roy Hodgson has failed utterly, writes Dion Fanning By Dion Fanning Sunday January 02 2011 Football supporters turning on their club's manager is not new but for a manager to turn on his club's supporters is more unusual. Roy Hodgson's dismal and utterly predictable time as Liverpool manager effectively came to an end last Wednesday night. Hodgson is just a patsy, one of the last remaining figures from the old regime. The hopes of the Fenway Sports Group that the club could stagger on until the summer vanished with that defeat to Wolves. Hodgson's contribution after the game, when he criticised the lack of support he has received from the supporters, might have deflected from the defeat but not as he imagined. Once more, he demonstrated why Liverpool is not only too big a club, even in its dysfunction, for him to manage but also a club he doesn't understand. The chant of 'Hodgson for England' was a hydra-headed beast. It was the first time Liverpool fans had chanted Hodgson's name and they were only doing it to discard him. In the process they were offering him to an entity they care nothing about: England. Hodgson was the establishment's appointment. It played well among certain opinion-formers, opinion-formers who had been very impressed with Christian Purslow. Last Wednesday night, Liverpool fans demonstrated that these men know nothing about Liverpool Football Club and its otherness. Those who felt it was significant that Liverpool appoint an English manager failed to grasp the qualities that make the club, in the eyes of its supporters at least, different. Hodgson was coming from middle England. He is a church warden, a desk sergeant, a man whose reasonableness is only matched by a sense of persecution that he has not been given a fair deal. In another life, you could see him complaining if the 7.47 from Clapham Junction was running late. In this life, he has complained about everything: the players he has had to work with, the number of times Liverpool appear on television and the scrutiny of the media (no manager has had such powerful backing from press and television). His grumbling has confirmed that he cannot do the job. At times, he almost seems to think it himself. "I don't think they [the fans] got behind my appointment," he said on Friday, "and there's no reason why they should." He was an appointment made in crisis. Hanging over the club in the summer was the ownership of Tom Hicks and George Gillett (Jose Mourinho let it be known that the ownership would have to change before he would consider the job) but while that ruled out top managers, it was not the conflict that led to Hodgson's appointment. Christian Purslow fancied himself as a football man. He was considered a financial wizard. "He saw himself as the Fernando Torres of finance," said one who worked closely with him. Purslow would be vindicated on the financial front in one respect: he helped get Hicks and Gillett out of Liverpool. His involvement in anything to do with the football side of Liverpool was another story. In the last unhappy year of Rafael Benitez's time as manager, Purslow was never slow to offer an opinion. He became a sounding board for influential players, who expressed their dissatisfaction. There was rarely a point during Benitez's time when players weren't dissatisfied -- that was part of his managerial style. Yet, on the field, until last season, results would often mask the dissatisfaction. Victory usually does. In Benitez's last season, decay set it. The reasons for this would be disputed by all those involved but when Benitez was worn down by the endless feuds and his contribution to them, a different appointment had to be made. Despite talking to other candidates, Purslow was always drawn to Hodgson. He offered reasonableness and an ability to talk intelligently about other subjects, to mention Philip Roth or John Updike, where Benitez would just want more. After a manager who saw everything in terms of war, Liverpool wanted peace. It was an appalling reading of the situation. Liverpool imagined a more harmonious club with a manager who would offer hugs and kind words where Benitez would just seek endless, tiring improvement. Well, the hugs don't work. Hodgson has been defensive, not open, and those who felt he would bring an improvement in Liverpool's style of play had really not paid attention during his career. He was always in an impossible position. A significant minority of supporters mourned Benitez and there is something of the post-Saipan atmosphere at Liverpool at the moment. The fans who have turned on Hodgson are not, as some suggest, falling victim to modern life's impatience. If they were merely impatient, it would not explain why some remain loyal to Benitez. Sky can dismiss the idea of Benitez returning but they would be better asking why some supporters remain loyal to the former manager and never felt close to Hodgson, except to demonstrate some ex officio loyalty. As in so many things, they misread the club when they say it is unlike Liverpool to turn on a manager. Liverpool has never appointed a manager like Hodgson before. Before the game against Wolves, Hodgson once again defended himself and insisted he was the right man for the job. "I know that I am capable of doing this job, but maybe the expectations and ambitions of the club were too high and weren't lessened by the fact that I came off the back of such a good season." In other words, he could manage a club like Liverpool if it wasn't a club like Liverpool. If it was, say, Fulham. Other managers have battled with the expectation of Liverpool supporters but none has gone about setting the bar as low as Hodgson. After a win against Aston Villa, Hodgson was asked by his friends at Sky, Andy Gray and Richard Keys, if this was title-winning form. The friends dissolved in laughter. The Fulham manager was laughing. Liverpool challenging for the title wasn't always as preposterous. Nobody expected Liverpool to do that this season, but there has been a dismantling of expectation. That night, two friends and bullshitters met. Hodgson and Houllier. Houllier made his own disastrous misreading of Aston Villa supporters when he waved to the Liverpool fans but not his own at the end of the game. Last week, he backed Hodgson to get it right. It could have been the kiss of death. In fact, he might have kissed himself to death. A few weeks ago, Hodgson spoke about how he had to overturn decisions made by Purslow about players the then managing director felt should leave the club. It was another astonishing glimpse into the summer's chaos. Purslow, it turned out, was no judge of a player. He pursued Joe Cole for his signature when other voices who were then at the club described the player as "brainless". Hodgson explained how he had kept some players Purslow didn't rate. A few pointed out that Purslow had appointed Hodgson too. Those who defend Hodgson by saying he has not changed as a manager since last summer when he won the Manager of the Year award are getting close to the truth. Hodgson hasn't got any worse, he was never good enough in the first place. On Wednesday, as he talked about a lack of respect to Wolves if people expect Liverpool to beat them easily and droned about the result not always matching the expectations of the supporters (his expectations were clearly different), he sounded again like a man drained of ambition. He believed his achievements in the past year entitled him to the Liverpool job. He has the bureaucrat's mindset: he works slowly and methodically and eventually becomes an assistant secretary. "To some extent it was a reward for the work I had put in, not just at Fulham but in the years before. It was a recognition of my competence." Hodgson used to compare his record to Alex Ferguson's if only people would take the Scandinavian leagues into account. "Those of us who work in the game and have been working in the game a long time know that the magic wand doesn't exist," he said last week. Again it is a reasonable position but the managers who make a difference at Liverpool, Manchester United or Arsenal believe they can change everything. They believe in their own magic. Hodgson's strength is making mediocre teams slightly less mediocre and of never expecting too much. The chants for Kenny Dalglish that were heard again on Wednesday do not necessarily mean that the fans see him as the saviour. This is not Newcastle, longing for the return of Kevin Keegan. Simply, Dalglish represents everything Hodgson is not and, in fairness, everything Hodgson could or would not hope to be. Dalglish watched people die supporting his football club and then felt it was his duty to allow this tragedy to consume him. If he could be a temporary appointment, it would at least have the benefit of unifying the club. Dalglish, however, may no longer be interested in a caretaker position. Liverpool will need to look for a man of ambition after that. Those who suggest the senior players at the club should be consulted are in danger of making the same mistakes again. Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher felt they could work with Hodgson when their relationship with Benitez had broken down. One of the new manager's biggest tasks will be to confront the problem of Gerrard, who has lost his explosiveness, and gently ease Carragher, who is past it, out the door. Carragher signed a new contract on the last day of the old regime which was another curious decision in a summer when many were made. Hodgson's appointment was the most calamitous of all. In six months, he has dragged Liverpool into a relegation battle and, in his own way, remodelled the club in his image. If part of his job specification was to shatter the expectations at Liverpool Football Club, then he can walk away with his head held high.

Subjects: Financing Deal Structure Covenant Discussion

Sent - From 2 different addresses.

The Guardian's sports correspondent Owen Gibson, on the ball as usual, has emailed to clear up the presence of Keith Edelman at the meeting: "Keith Edelman has been involved in the process as an advisor to RBS for some time - he will be at the board meeting in that capacity." So there we go.

100% agreed.

Its a simple response to a post. A post said United would not loose at Fulham. They lost there in March. What is the issue - O I know its a factual response that makes sense. Did I mention anything about wins and losses this season. Grow up.

March 21st, Fulham 2 Manchester United o.

Greedy Judas bxstard. Easy when its 3 up

Yes. A 'mistimed' tackle..

Scholes on a yellow and handles the ball and just walks away with giving away a free kick. I thought that a deliberate hand-ball was a yellow and hence a sending off.

Wigan outplaying United. still scoreless

Liverpool today agreed a deal with AEK Athens for centre-back Sotirios Kyrgiakos, subject to a medical. The 30-year-old Greek international will arrive at Melwood for a medical examination before the weekend. Rafa Benitez told Liverpoolfc.tv: "We have nearly done the deal subject to a medical. He is a player with experience who can hopefully help us in defence. "He has experience in British football and Rangers. After that with Frankfurt and the national team. He's a good player in the air, strong and aggressive. We were looking for a player with experience. "He will have the medical this week, it has to be before the weekend." On how the signing would impact on young centre-backs such as Martin Kelly and Daniel Ayala, Benitez added: "The young players know they need experience and so to learn alongside people with this experience is better."

Total Bullshix. 1.5m. and to rub salt in, Silva ours for 17m

Give up on the Xabi shxt - Its tedious, boring and just fxcking childish. Starting the league campaign with 3 kids on the bench who have never started in the league, and both lucas and babel on the pitch, should tell you enough about how this year is going to go. Fuxking horrible yank bxstards

Martin Petrov has told the Bulgarian media he wants to quit Manchester City this summer in order to secure first-team football. Petrov is on international duty with Bulgaria ahead of tomorrow's friendly with Latvia, and spoke to reporters at the national team's training camp. 'I don't see City depending too much on me this year, at least from what I have seen from the pre-season friendlies so far,' Petrov said in Dnevnik. 'No footballer is content with polishing the bench and I am no exception.' The left winger now plans to have talks with boss Mark Hughes on his return from international duty. Petrov starred for City under Sven-Goran Eriksson after joining from Atletico Madrid in 2007, but a serious knee injury suffered on international duty at the start of last season left him with little opportunity to impress Hughes, who used Robinho in midfield last season and has since added Gareth Barry. The 30-year-old went on to claim several clubs have expressed an interest in his signature. 'There were several inquiries but no offers as of yet,' he said.

Every manager has made mistakes. Pointing out a few players that haven't made the grade is pointless. The same could be done with any of the top 4 managers.

Unfortunately its not as easy as that. Its not like replacing a car. Did ferguson replace Ronaldo with a suitable replacement??? Alonso has gone for the 7th highest transfer fee of all time. 3 above him moved this summer, and the other 3 are retired. So who do you go after. At the end of the day, it will not easy or dare I say even possible to replace Alonso. But its not about 1 player. Its about the big picture.

Todays Dion Fanning piece in the irish indo There is an episode of Seinfeld that may explain Alex Ferguson's decision to sign Michael Owen (I have found that there's an episode of Seinfeld that best illustrates most things in life). The great George Costanza is explaining his dating technique to Seinfeld, or Seinfield if you're Pat Kenny. He will be going out with a sales girl he met, although it's not so much a date as she has some errands to run and George will accompany her. Jerry wonders if that can technically be referred to as a date. "What's the difference?" George asks. "You know the way I work, I'm like a commercial jingle. First it's a little irritating, then you hear it a few times, you're humming it in the shower." There may be more truth in this theory of seduction than in all the romantic tales, but it may also serve as an illustration of the havoc Rafael Benitez caused when he decided to take on Alex Ferguson last January, havoc that seems to have affected Ferguson so badly he decided to sign a player 10 days ago who hasn't played meaningful football since he signed for Newcastle, not that anyone else at St James' Park either. Benitez was savaged for his criticisms of Ferguson but they lodged in the Manchester United manager's mind. Ferguson, it was initially confidently predicted, would laugh them off, but instead, like an irritating jingle, he couldn't shake them from his head. Ferguson kept returning to Benitez, making a fool of himself most spectacularly when he joined in the co-ordinated campaign to complain about Benitez's lack of respect towards Sam Allardyce when the Liverpool manager made an ambiguous hand gesture on the sideline. We have the evidence that Benitez's irritating public performances have already triggered some sort of psychotic episode in Ferguson. From there, it is not too difficult to imagine him being motivated, at least in part, by a determination to exact a revenge beyond the obvious of winning the league, and sign Liverpool favourite Michael Owen, a player Benitez rejected on numerous occasions. For a while there last season, Fergie had even become an expert on the Liverpool tradition, lecturing the Liverpool manager on the hand gestures expected of a man in charge at Anfield and suggesting that you would never have seen Bob Paisley making a vague, semi-circle gesture with his hands when his side had taken the lead. This historical awareness may have inspired him to move for Owen who always had a difficult relationship with Liverpool fans as he often seemed to express his delight at playing for England, an understandable emotion when, at club level, he was trying to transport himself to the same wavelength as Bruno Cheyrou and Christian Ziege. Driven demented once more by the irritating jingle, Ferguson may have looked at Owen and thought 'why not?' Owen insists he is fit to play football, producing some impressive statistics to back up his claims that he is able to play. He is fit but not fit to play football in the manner he once did and in some ways there would be less to worry about if he was just always injured. He pointed out that he had played more than 30 times for Newcastle in the past two seasons. But, more importantly, he was left out towards the end of the season despite Alan Shearer's excited promise when he took over that Michael Owen was the player to score the goals to take Newcastle out of trouble. Instead Owen watched from the bench, his limitations exposed and while he will have better players around him now, he will still have to play and that is something he isn't good at doing anymore. But the move excites those who shape conventional wisdom. Owen is England's striker and he is joining Manchester United in a World Cup year. "We know what Michael Owen's like in a World Cup year," one said. Indeed we do. In the 2005/2006 season, he played 10 times for Newcastle, stumbled into the tournament before suffering another desperate injury, an injury that may finally have robbed him of whatever pace he had left. They are giddily war-gaming now, planning the build-up to a World Cup semi-final against Brazil, in which Owen, fit from a tremendous season with United, latches on to a Heskey knockdown and puts England in the final. They are adept at thinking several moves ahead, like a chess grand master, but one who gets so excited about the moves down the board, he doesn't notice that it's already check and mate. Ferguson must be hailed for his "piece of genius" when the reality could be very different. It has already been proclaimed as another masterstroke from the man who recently paid £50m for Owen Hargreaves, Nani and Anderson. They have compared it to the signing of Henrik Larsson but Larsson came almost directly from setting up two goals in the Champions League final to Old Trafford. Owen, through his own reckless choices, hasn't played in the Champions League for five years. It is hard to see how it can succeed, not when everybody is saying it will. It can't fail, they all say, and Manchester United can't lose as they are getting Owen for nothing. The price is irrelevant. If he plays and doesn't score, then he could cost United matches and then Manchester United lose. Owen doesn't come with a transfer fee but he comes at a price: England's giddiness. Worryingly for United fans, Owen is already talking excitedly about what this could do for his England career. The United Store report minimal interest in Michael Owen shirts. The masterstroke might have taken place elsewhere. Rafa's rant was the irritating jingle that still bounces around in Ferguson's head.

I wonder how Jamie C feels about it.

Major League Baseball within the last week loaned millions to Tom Hicks, the evidently cash-strapped owner of the Texas Rangers, and will continue to offer financial assistance to Hicks until he is able to sell the team, a major league source with direct knowledge of the situation told Yahoo! Sports on Thursday. “He won’t be running the team much longer,” the source said. “Major League Baseball is helping him through this until someone else can be put in place to run the club.” Rangers spokesman John Blake said the club would have no comment on the team’s financial situation. Rich Levin, a spokesman for the commissioner’s office, said MLB does not comment on its teams’ finances. Reports of Hicks’ most recent difficulties surfaced during a radio show on XM/Sirius radio, when a caller said he’d heard the Rangers had not made payroll, and that Hicks had borrowed $15 million from MLB to do so. ADVERTISEMENT A major league source told Yahoo! Sports the loan to the Hicks Sports Group was not made specifically to help Hicks with payroll obligations, and believed that the amount was for less than $15 million. A club source confirmed that the team met payroll and that the club is maintaining normal business operations, although earlier this season the team reduced its front office staff by 10 percent. Hicks first announced he was willing to sell a minority stake in the club in March. But after the Hicks Sports Group defaulted on an interest-only payment on a $525 million loan to his U.S.-based sports operations, Hicks said he would be willing to sell a controlling interest in the team. Hicks, who made his fortune in private equity, has an estimated personal worth of $1 billion, according to the 2009 annual survey by Forbes magazine. Hicks’ first major foray into sports came in 1995, when he purchased the NHL’s Dallas Stars, a team that twice went to the Stanley Cup finals since he took control. In 1998, he bought the Rangers for $250 million, but his baseball team has not come close to matching the early success he had with the Stars; the Rangers have never been to the World Series. Hicks gained notoriety after the 2000 season when he signed Alex Rodriguez(notes) to a 10-year, $252 million contract, the largest in baseball history and reportedly at least $100 million more than any other team was willing to pay Rodriguez. The deal blew up on Hicks. The Rangers finished in last place in each of Rodriguez’s three years with the team, and Hicks traded him to the Yankees by agreeing to pay $67 million of the $179 million still owed Rodriguez in the deal, plus an additional $4 million in signing bonus. Even after Rodriguez voided his deal with the Yankees, then re-signed a new 10-year, $275 million contract after the 2007 season, the Rangers were stuck with a $9 million bill in deferred compensation. During his time with the Rangers, Rodriguez also tested positive for steroids. Hicks said he felt “personally betrayed and deceived” when news of the failed test broke earlier this year. The Rangers’ opening day payroll this season was around $68.1 million, which ranked 22nd among MLB’s 30 teams and was less than $1 million more than its 2008 level. The Rangers until recently were in first place in the American League West, but Hicks’ financial woes would seem to make it unlikely that Texas GM Jon Daniels will be in a position to add payroll at the July 31 trading deadline. A sale of the club does not appear imminent, and while names of prospective buyers have surfaced – Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, the team’s president, is said to be interested in becoming part of a new ownership group – there would appear to be little chance of the team being sold before the end of the season.

whats the score and how long is left?

Have a read through the portsmouth match thread and you may think differently.