Osman, Betting markets and tips., Rooney spending money on some 'box' again, Tottenham Hotspur prediction and 4 days off.

Work is the curse of the drinking classes.

The site will be dormant until Tuesday 28th September - a big project has arisen [in the real world] and the PC is going to have to get unplugged! How will you lot cope?!

The invisible man.

I've added the Prediction Poll for the Spurs match, the next one after Portsmouth, so feel free to vote now, or after the Portsmouth game. I'll be able to go to the Spurs match. Just think, yours truly may be sitting next to you at the Spurs game and you'll never know. Such is the nature of 'on-line communities.' The Spurs game, last season, sticks in the mind for a phenomenal performance from us and the "Singing the blues" chant. It was all particularly pleasant for me, as I despise all things Tottenham. Besides the 'Muslim Council of Britain' [who seem to be continually 'outraged' by one thing or another [we're going on holiday with a Muslim-raised friend and his family this year, so don't choke on your organic yoghurt nor your 'Fair Trade' lentils and hold your tongues!]], they [Spurs fans] must be the world's most prolific group of whingers. You must have heard how they always seem to drone, ad nauseam, when 'phoning Radio 5 and Talksport? Some years ago, after a Spurs match, some big, fat, Geoff-Capes-style-bearded cock-knee-wankah, broke off from singing, "Maybe it's because I'm a Laaaaaaahndaanah," to punch the living daylights out of me and another kid [I was only 14] on Priory Road. Funny how one incident can make you hate a club forever isn't it?

Injury.

As a result of last night's win, bad news came today in the form of Osman's prognosis.

Pompey.

Turning to Portsmaaarf, we're fancied by 'Read a bet' to win, they're normally a good punting-tool, so their view shall add to the pre-match 'Saturday Night' feeling.

Bearing in mind that I'll be otherwise engaged until next Tuesday, I've had to close the poll now, in order to prevent the strangest cats amongst you from voting after the match has finished. The results are as follows:

Predictions: Portsmaaarf [a] ['Pompey'], Sun 26/9/04 @ 16.05
Everton win 74%
0:0 3%
Score draw 16%
Portsmouth win 6%

P2P betting exchange, Betfair, is currently offering the following, amongst the Everton markets:

Porstsmouth match:

Portsmouth win
Back at 2.38, lay at 2.4
Everton win
Back at 3.5, lay at 3.55
Draw
Back at 3.35, lay at 3.4

To win the Carling Cup:
Back at 19, lay at 40

To win the Premiership
Back at 830, lay at 950

To win the Premiership [Handicap: +46.5 points]
Back at 4.9, lay at 5

To be relegated from the Premiership
Back at 9.2, lay at 12.5

"How much for the use of your big box love?"

This will be a great place to watch a lot of the Pop-Idol-type 'musical-hell' that that place often serves up.

C U Next Tuesday...
COYB

Carling draw, Everton v Leicester or Preston.

Everton will face either Leicester or Moyes' former club, Preston, at Goodison in the next round. Ties to be played week commencing October 25th.

Full draw here.

"Mine's a Carling!" Everton finally go through after penalties.

Bitter Blue.

Only joking, like all the mass-produced-for-the-masses lager, Carling is utterly horrible. I'll be having a Cains instead. These fellas know the score.

Result: Everton buck the trend and win on penalties.

The match finished 2:2 after 90 mins. and stayed that way right through extra time.

McFadden missed a pen during open play. Watson missed our 1st pen of the shoot out. We went on to scrape through 4:3

Our abysmal record in penalty shoot-outs has taking a beating tonight, this makes it 2 penalty shoot out victories in 34 years ! [remember Newcastle [a]?]. No amount of spin can make that record anything other than atrocious.

At least we're through. Well played Bristol City.

Latest score: Bristol City 1, er hang on, 2:2 Everton

Just spotted that they've scored nine in the last two games.

Oh lordy!

Latest score [HT]: Bristol City 0:2 Everton

Nick Chadwick made it 2 with a header, minutes after coming on for Osman [groin injury], the goal coming just before time.

By the way, youse were right again, dare I say that at half time? The prediction poll results are as follows:

Predictions: Bristol City [a] ['The Robins'], Wed 22/9/04 @ 19.45
Everton win 88%
Score draw 6%
Bristol City win 6%

Several polls are still open on the right hand side of this page.

In other, more important news, this breaking story about Kenneth Bigley is sickening:

"I need you to help me now Mr Blair, because you are the only person on God's earth who can help me" There's got to be something seriously wrong with a philosophy that deems the creation of that situation and the videoing of it, to be an acceptable way to behave.

Latest score: Everton 1:0 Bristol City

Everton 1:0 Bristol City

Big Dunc with a pen. on 29 mins. Up until that point, it had been a fairly even match.

Bristol city [a] - match preview stuff and more of the old 'in-out.'

Tonight's betting market has been covered in a previous post. Here are a couple of previews: here and here.

League-position wise, Bristol City are currently 15th in Coca-Cola Football League One.

It has previously been published that Clarke is going, but another player is on the Wright track. This link is gaining momentum and along with this one, it is a very exciting time isn't it?

Dear Everton Football Club Board

Remember the name: "Nil Satis Nisi Optimum."

We the people, who seem bluer than you, haven't forgotten that the family silver has been sold and that you have a hell of a lot of money both to hand and in the pipeline. Whilst I'm sure that this time, some £15m - £20m will be spent in January, it quite simply won't wash if this latest wedge evaporates into the ether.

You may vote on whether you think that there Will or Won't be a significant war-chest for Moyes, come the January sales, in the 'Best things in life are free' poll [on the right had side of this page]

Don't let a League table showing us ridin' high in 3rd and eye-catching headlines like this, give you any other ideas now boys. Anybody can be forgiven for reading too much into the effects of that tongue in cheek warning-shot article. We do indeed know our history all too well however and past events have forced some to be extremely cynical when it comes to Everton's fund-management.

Moyes' 'City' revelation, EGM info. and Clarke's gone

Moyes, almost joined Bristol City in 1999. Robins fans must be gutted to learn of that. A city the size of Bristol deserves a Premiership presence and he would have been just the fella.

Toffeweb have published the EGM wordage.

Sorry to see that it hasn't worked out as hoped, for Clarke. Big things were expected from him a couple of years ago, but when he was given his chance, it simply didn't happen for him. Good luck to him.

Tonight 's match v Bristol City - betting

The prediction poll for tonight's game is on the right hand side of this page.

P2P betting exchange Betfair has the following prices:

Bristol City 'to do a Colchester'
Back at 4.6, Lay at 4.7

Everton to win
Back at 1.86, Lay at 1.87

The Draw
Back at 3.9, Lay at 4.1

To win the whole competition:

Everton
Back at 11.5, Lay at 38

Bristol City
Back at 160, Lay at no price

More news and preview info later...

It is a black day for football, one of the all-time greats, Brian Clough once of Nottinghm Forest has died.

Very sorry to announce that Brian Clough has passed away. Sadly, the
world of football has irreversibly changed since he was one of the
Masters and we will never see his like again.

Moyes summing up, very positive press and two new polls.

Whilst sipping your first cup of tea or coffee of the day, relax with these three heart-warmers. In the last 20 years, things have only fleetingly and momentarily been this good, so savour every positive sentiment and word.

[1] Times

[2] Telegraph

[3] BBC

Polls for the next two matches, Bristol City [a] [this Wednesday at 19.45] and Portsmouth [a] [next Sunday at 16:05] are on the right hand side of this page.

Virtual reality [and we're not talking about being 3rd in the League].

Virtual Reality.

Evertons VR tour is good, check it out here.

Post match data.

The Official site has alternate reports of who scored today's goal, both Bent and Quedrue being mentioned in prominent paragraphs. These people, tend to publish the definitive information.

Third in the League ... and yes we are having a laugh. Bet many of you are not sure just who you'd like to see lose, the most, in the battle of the redshytes [in the 'Theatre of Hate'] tomorrow.

Next matches are listed here.

The current League table is here.

Other news.

We've just tonked the Americans in the Ryder Cup!

Lastly and definitely most importantly, many will tonight and tomorrow, spare thoughts for Mr Kenneth Bigley. Mr Bigley is a Scouser, who tonight must be feeling a long way from home. His crime is that he is a Westerner and has been deemed an 'Infidel.' He also happened to be working as an Engineer, trying to improve conditions in Iraq.

Read here, here and here.

Too horrible for any further words.

Premiership Final Score: Everton 1:0 Middlesbrough

Everton storm into third place.

Everton continue to hurtle towards the top of the League. The big-spending, high-rolling, but limited and stroppy Middlesbrough [Viduka had a right old sulk on] were the latest club to feel our wrath.

Despite the usual atrocious refereeing [surely it's now time for the authorities to put referees on immediate suspension after poor performaces?], a Bent goal was enough to give us the deserved 3 points. According to the BBC's Radio Merseyside, Lee Carsley once more played like a 'Bat out of Hell.'

The pre-match poll results are now in:

Predictions: Home v [the imaginatively nicknamed] 'Boro' [Sunday 19th September at 15.00]
Everton win 59%
Score draw 13%
Middlesbrough win 29%
Well done to the enlightened 59%

The beer scooter is revving, more later ...

Another reason why Rooney won't exactly find Manchester United to be a home from home ...

Victor Meldrew's Sunday Roasting.



Theatre of Hate by Victor Meldrew

This article, that was e-mailed to me, honest, refers to a publication on the official ManU site ... fairground workers.

Rooney's surely going to just love it when the Cockney Reds start their jealousy-inspired, anti-Scouse chants in future.

Have any of you ever actually seen the state of most of the Manchester area? I've window-shopped in every single B&Q and BHS, in and around that whole area and believe me, they have no valid claim to superiority...

Most importantly, couldn't ManU now be prosecuted for 'incitement to racial hatred' with the anti-Spanish sentiment?

Most of us, including myself, are all for 'having a laugh' but, despite coming from an official site [that's obviously desperate to be seen as controversial and have some street-cred], it's little more than abject racialist shyte.

There, I'm so angry, my Cadbury's Highlights [made in my favourite English Bone China cup], has gone cold ...

"Margaret, pour me another dear."

Bye for now, COYB!
Victor