05/08/24
August 13, 2005
Chelsea v Wigan: The numbers have it.: This BBC article has a match preview that includes a comparison of transfer fees for two teams that will be meeting in just a few hours: Chelsea (EPL defending champions who won by a mile last season) and Wigan (EPL new boys, who took only 26 years to go from bottom league to their first-ever top level match). I may turn into a Wigan fan, especially if they win tomorrow. Chelsea first team's transfer fees: GBP133.7m. Wigan's: GBP9.2m. Wigan win tomorrow: Priceless.
posted by worldcup2002 to soccer at 11:29 PM - 17 comments
Looking at those relative expenditures, Abramovich should sack Mourinho if Chelsea don't win at least 13-1.
posted by squealy at 05:56 AM on August 14, 2005
Go on the Latics!!!!! /am I the only one who thinks of breast milk when I see Wigan's...errrrr...mascot?
posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 09:59 AM on August 14, 2005
Maybe we should rename them the Lactics? Almost half-time, 0-0, and Wigan seems to be holding their own. Breast of luck, Lactics!
posted by worldcup2002 at 10:49 AM on August 14, 2005
If they got to 45 minutes scoreless, mad props to the Milkers! Though it would screw with my fantasy league scoring. So, second half Pensioners must rule.
posted by billsaysthis at 11:32 AM on August 14, 2005
Damn the fantasy scores! I've got Lampard, Maka, and Drogba in it, but if Wigan even draw, this will be a great start to the season. Go Lactics, err, Latics!
posted by worldcup2002 at 11:38 AM on August 14, 2005
Only 12 mins to go and still 0-0. Wigan are not sitting back, still sending men up. (I'm only following text commentary, so can't tell what this really looks like.)
posted by worldcup2002 at 11:39 AM on August 14, 2005
Oh no! 40 seconds from the end! Right after a 3-on-1 break! That's just crushing..
posted by grum@work at 11:53 AM on August 14, 2005
I watched it...lucky Chelsea ba&tards...Wigan played their hearts out but it was a good strike from Crespo. And grum...on the 3-1 break you mentioned...he should have just taken that pass down and then hit it instead of going first time, don't you think? I know it's hard to consider all that in the heat of the moment but damn, I wish he had settled it first. Great performance by Wigan and I really look forward to seeing more from these guys. The season is finally here!!!
posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 12:01 PM on August 14, 2005
Heartbreak!
posted by worldcup2002 at 12:07 PM on August 14, 2005
Hey, don't cry over spilled milk, mate. This bodes well for them for the year.
posted by chicobangs at 12:11 PM on August 14, 2005
Am I the only person who is totally ambivalent about the start of the new season? I don't think so. As a rather obsessive football fan of many years standing, I really couldn't care less at the moment and I don't think I'm alone. Attendances were down across the board yesterday as people seem to be falling out of love with the national game. Perhaps it's something to do with the saturation coverage, the greed, the arrogance (personified unpleasantly and for different reasons by Peter Kenyon, Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole) and the spiteful atmosphere that pervades so many games. This article encapsulates my feelings about the game. Football needs to go away for a while, the tabloids need to put something else on the back cover and TalkSport needs to find something else for its pointless phone-ins. Maybe if it came back fresh some of us would be able to remember what we liked about it in the first place. Fat chance of that though in a World Cup year.
posted by Pete at 01:15 PM on August 14, 2005
And grum...on the 3-1 break you mentioned...he should have just taken that pass down and then hit it instead of going first time, don't you think? I know it's hard to consider all that in the heat of the moment but damn, I wish he had settled it first. I wonder if he thought there was someone on his heels. The ball wasn't that wild, and he could have had a couple of steps before being challenged by the keeper. That was the substitute, Johansson, right?
posted by grum@work at 02:17 PM on August 14, 2005
That was the substitute, Johansson, right? That was Johansson, yes, and he had only been on about 5 minutes, which may also explain the nerves. He'll remember that one, hopefully for the good.
posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 06:02 PM on August 14, 2005
Uh Pete... Maybe its YOU who has lost the passion for it... Here in the States even, it seems to be more intense than ever... I don't have any clue what you are talking about. And yes, I am a Wigan fan now...
posted by StarFucker at 10:08 PM on August 14, 2005
Me, too. I've switched my fantasy team kit to the Wigan colors. Go Latics!
posted by worldcup2002 at 11:46 PM on August 14, 2005
Pete, we just don't get close to that kind of coverage over here even for MLS clubs. Now my local paper has pages every day for the Giants, A's and the rest of MLB and with NFL heating those guys too. Earthquakes are lucking to get a few column inches three times a week. Scum journalists!
posted by billsaysthis at 10:29 PM on August 15, 2005
I love stories like this.