TaksimRakiClub

Can only speak for Hungary but Budapest is a must see city.

Travelled by train through Hungary and Slovakia (which you may have to pass through to get to Hungary from Poland) and its like stepping back in time to the Cold War - including over zealous border guards. Think Funeral In Berlin.

Llubljana in Slovenia - which again may be en route from Hungary to Croatia - is also worth a look-see.

We are signing Fabio Coentrao, Juan Mata and Segio Aguero next week Tommo's care worker told me it will be announced on tuesday

Sounds good to me.

I believe Tommo 'chats shite' and is a disabled in some capacity. To be honest, I do no see why I should have to wait, I wants some signings now!

As do we all and you may well be correct with regard to Tommo.

It would be great to get everything sorted early but as we can't actually sign players from foreign federations until 1st July it could well be a long five weeks.

Who are we buying?

Ask Tommo

I think we should try sign Arshavin on the cheap. He can play on the left and right and could be good option.

If we'd have signed him after Euro 2008 with the Keene money we'd have won the League 08/09.

Its a pass now.

Just beat the genie with Crazy Horse.

He came up with Geronimo so the cunt obviously can't tell a Sioux from an Apache.

Tried him with Torquemada and the twat got it.

Me and nine mates arrived in Istanbul on the Monday afternoon when all was relatively quiet in Taksim and just watched in awe as the numbers started to build up over the course of the evening.

It was the numbers that got me more than anything else. That, and the fact that no matter how many turned up they just kept on coming. We bumped into a few old mates including our kid's bezzie from school who'd been with him in the Leppings Lane. To sit down with the lad and have a pint together after not seeing him for fifteen odd years still brings a tear to the eye whenever I think about it.

All dayer on the Tuesday. Bunking into the Crowne Plaza Bosphorus in the evening wearing shorts, t-shirt and a fez and talking to Rafa, Xabi and Jerzy. Knowing that something special was going to happen the following day but having no idea......

The Luis Garcia song over and over and over again.

The abiding memeory pre-match was the journey out to the stadium. 10 of us plus drivers crammed into two of them shitty little yellow Ladas and the whole of Istanbul turning out to watch the procession. Hanging out the windows, passing cans of Efes around and just redmen as far as the eye could see.

Ditching the transport two mile short of the Ataturk and starting to walk.

No transport arranged for after the match and no fucking idea how we were getting back into Istanbul. Getting lucky and finding a mini-coach with a few spare places, bribing the driver to let us on and then three to a seat all the way back.

The square was fucking nuts "Fuck off Mourinho, we won it 5 times." All night.

Dawn - still wearing the fez - me and two of the boys have our photie taken by a press photographer in Taksim "reading" the local rag. (The photo actually made the front cover of Thursday's Manchester Evening News and the FourFourTwo Istanbul special a month later.)

8 o'clock. Champagne in the hotel bar to cap the night off and then straight onto the coach back to Sabiha Gocken.

Chaos in the big white tent. We're sorting out drinks and food when our flights called. Passport Control wouldn't let us through until our Pilot actually walks over, checks our tickets himself - no boarding passes - and persuades the Turks to let us through.

We're away and by 4 back in Concert Square having a pint. Assorted wives and kids arrive and we all head off to St George's Hall for the homecoming.

Fucking epic.

Hot on the heels of the Alex O'Hanlon thing last week the very good Youth thread on RAWK is reporting that we've offered a six year deal to a 16 year old CF from Zeljeznicar Sarajevo called Armin Hodzic.

Could be a load of old bollocks of course - although that particular thread is one of the better things about RAWK.

Or could it be part of the new FSG transfer strategy?

I'd be curious to know why the Irish lad (apparently) chose us as opposed to the numerous offers he supposedly received and a six year deal for a 16 year old seems very unusual.

A lad called Richie - think its Tribal Tattoo - on Cheapside (off Dale St/Tithebarn) is very good.

The tattoos are not on the Cheapside but he knows what he's doing.

Used to pick up a bottle of Grey Goose and a bottle of Carlos I (Spanish brandy not widely available over here) on my travels but thanks to the barn owl I won't be getting to europe as much over the next 12 months.

Going to Mallorca next month on the annual jolly though - so the first stop will be the local Caprabo to pick up the afoementioned and a crate of San Mig. Get in.

Whilst never holding out any realistic hope that Aguero was a viable target I wouldn't believe Marca if they told me the earth was round.

I'll believe that particular transfer when I see it but if he does go there I'd be putting in a proper bid for the Noodle - but then its not as if Real actually have to balance the books or anything.

I remember Aguero and Di Maria tearing up a tournament (U20 WC?) a few years back and that's the age group where we should be concentrating the scouting - I'm not sure how much Benfica paid Rosario for him but I bet it was less than we paid for Riera/Gonzalez/Pennant etc etc etc

Apparently Hemming has some previous playing away himself with his "personal assistant" Emily Cox so was obviously a bit miffed that monkey boy could hide behind a superinjunction.

Hugh McIllvanney did one about 10-12 years ago for Arena called The Football Men.

It was about Bill Shankly, Sir Matt Busby and Jock Stein - their friendship and the parallells in their respective lives - all hailing from small mining communities in the West of Scotland, football was a means of escaping the pits and how their tough upbringings forged their personalities etc etc

Well worth a watch. As for posting a link I'm afraid I can barely type but if you seach for Hugh McIllvanney on Youtube its all there.

Fuck that - all kinds of wrongness.

Bounty from the fridge is to be encouraged and applauded but anything else is room temperature only. Deffo.

Golden Shred marmalade is the preserve of cunts.

Fucking behave.

4 chicken thighs, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tin on tomatoes, 1 chopped Chorizo ring

 

Bang it in a slow cooker for 8 hours.

Do something similar myself from time to time but add spuds and a yellow pepper.

Boss with a bottle of red.

Helmut Kohl (Helmet Cabbage) former Chancellor of Deutschland

Adolf?

Helmut, Herman, Fritz, Wolfgang, Rupprecht, Sigmund, Theodoric.

is boss.

Just fried some up in olive oil with tomatoes and a few slices of red chilli for me dinner/lunch - delete as appropriate. Warm bread roll to mop it all up with.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

I'm going to take a wild one here but I presume the Chechens are muslim and Hal Cohen is jewish?

Cardiff City at Wembley on the bank holiday weekend for the right to play in the Premiership.

The Perfect Storm.

The M4, Paddington Station etc not going to be pretty.

I've a friend of mines who's lad is in the same team who mentioned a couple of players off that team are exceptional the other been a lad called Jack Byrne. That was a few months back never thought anything of it until I heard we were close to getting him last week, so I called a couple of mates with kids similar age who play against him regularly for opinions, I posted on the forum about him Saturday.

I've never seen him play mate, just going off lads that watch him most weeks views.

LFC have an official link up with Kevins, that current side has about 6 players in the ireland youth squad so there doing something right at that club

Ta la.

Will it be too much to hope for a balanced view of how the day unfolded?

Either way I can't say I'll be queuing at the Odeon for it.

I think its quite hard to sort it if you think about it because the top clubs from every country go in the European Cup so you're going to be stuck with the lesser teams because the top 4 from here, Germany et al wont be in it and you wont be able to drag them back in to it.

The CL and an already-congested fixture list are obviously complicating factors but I still think there's a viable competition there if it was structured correctly.

Benfica at Anfield last season was the game of the season for me and in all likelihood its going to be a while before we get to sample that sort of night again which I think is a pity.

If UEFA are insistant that a league format is included I don't see why the Moldovan Sheepshaggers XI and LatviaRus etc etc don't play off through June, July and August for the right to go into a 4 team group against the teams with the highest UEFA co-efficients - the same structure as the CL in effect.

The idea that had we won the fair play league we would start on 30th June and play 23 games to win the tournament is just fucking ridiculous.

Before you know it UEFA will be suggesting that the actual CL Winners start defending their trophy in mid-July against the champions of Wales or Lithuania or something.

St Kevins boys his club

about 15 year ago the schoolboy league in Ireland took Coventry to court over Coventry taken one of the clubs players without compensation. The player was Willie Boland and I think the club was Cherry Orchard.

Anyway the court ruled in the Irish league favour and they got about £500k.

Since then English clubs have to compensate clubs when they take there players, this deal seems huge and I doubt the £2m figure is accurate, it's most likely £500k to the club, and if he makes LFC first team then an extra £1m.

Every team in Britain and beyond wanted this lad, and Real Madrid sent officials over to try sign him a couple of weeks ago.

Normally when lads go on trial if the club offer them an apprenticeship then the schoolboy club get around £50k, this just seems like an exceptional deal for an exceptional youngster

Paddy - Were you aware of this kid prior to the news breaking or has it come out of the blue?