A voice for good part 2 (??)

Nice things from Kaka: (Will James bite????)

"I watch the Premiership and I see Manchester United in England as the most Brazilian-like in their style," he said. "Obviously, Ronaldo and Rooney are very skilful, but they all play well with the ball on the floor. They play the passing game. They did not use any long balls against us. People always say that Arsenal play a Brazilian style of football, but I think Manchester United are more Brazilian in their way of playing than the Arsenal players are."

What he says is surprising in one way given that Arsenal have two of his Brazil team-mates among their team in Baptista and Gilberto!

Week 35

Not much change at the top this week with Mike scoring 16 points to Nick's 15. James's challenge once again faded with his team managing a paltry 7. It's going to be one of those classic tight finishes, but you have to fancy Mike at this stage. Not only are his players in form, he's got 2 Manchester United and 2 Chelsea players in his team whereas Nick only has 1 (Ashley Cole) who hasn't been featuring regularly of late. If it goes to the FA Cup final, Mike has the edge.

Congratulations to Steve who managed a mammoth 26 points this week.

So, the scores are:

FFL 2006/07 LEAGUE TABLE			week36
		Total Points	Diff
1st	Mike	384
2nd	Nick Ach	378	6
3rd	James	357	27
4th	Nick Ath	321	63
5th	Sid	317	67
6th	Rico	294	90
7th	Steve	293	91
8th	Donald	272	112
9th	Theo	253	131
10th	Stathi	217	167

Transfer:

Last throw of the dice for Nick who emulates Steve Coppell by swapping Lita for Doyle.

A voice for good..................

Not many times I am complimentary about the Arsenal board but Peter Hill-Wood's comments below are refreshing and pleasing to hear. He has sent a hands-off warning to American billionaire Stan Kroenke over any potential takeover of the club.

Hill-Wood told the Guardian: "The shareholders would prefer to stay in control than sell out to some stranger.

"We would be horrified to see ownership of the club go across the Atlantic."

Hill-Wood claims that he and three of the club's major shareholders - Fiszman, Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith and the Carr family - have "no intention of selling".

He added: "These people love Arsenal, they are independently wealthy and do not need the money. Having a few extra million pounds in the bank is of no interest to them.

"We're here for Arsenal football club, not to make a few bob. The club has been run for the benefit of supporters, staff and players."

Contrast this with the blatant whoring all over the world, to anyone who will listen (including dodgy Far Eastern Prime Minsters) of a certain club by a certain Mr. Moores.

One point I would like to ask Mr Hill-Wood is given your final, fan-friendly comment, how on earth can you justify the prices at the Emirates? How much does a pie cost? Oh, its run for a CERTAIN type of fan.

Week 34

Things probably don't get much better than this: you beat Roma 7-1 and cruise into the Champions League semis. A routine FA Cup semi-final win in 2nd gear sees you into the FA Cup final. You're top of the league. You've got the best player in the world. Then your FFL team scores 21 points (to the leader's 5) and you're looking at your 3rd FFL trophy. I do realise that it could all go tits up, but it's been a good week for Mike.

All that despite seeing James Milner get yet another assist and Joe Cole nothing. The only consolation is knowing that Nick must be feeling even worse watching Ballack getting points. It's also worth mentioning James's efforts of late - just 13 points behind Nick now and 18 behind Mike. With Matt Taylor back in the team and scoring, his renewed challenge might be coming at the right time. Finally, we might have an exciting climax to the season.

As for the rest of us, who gives a toss any more? Here are the scores:

FFL 2006/07 LEAGUE TABLE			week35
		Total Points	Diff
1st	Mike	368
2nd	Nick Ach	363	5
3rd	James	350	18
4th	Nick Ath	314	54
5th	Sid	306	62
6th	Rico	284	84
7th	Steve	267	101
8th	Donald	257	111
9th	Theo	236	132
10th	Stathi	214	154

No transfers to report this week, but there's plenty of mid-week action. Saddle up for the run-in.

PFA Player of the Year list

Pre-official announcement (don't shoot the messenger!)
This is the short-list for the PFA award:

Drogba
Fabregas
Gerrard
Ronaldo
Scholes
Giggs

My take? Its obviously between Drogba and Ronaldo. Scholes has claims to be on the list, but what the **$%$ are the rest doing there?
We know why Drogba and Ronaldo are there. The same for Scholes but Giggs? Yes he's played well this season but in the top 6 players in the Premiership? Vidic has more right that he has.

As for Gerrard and Fabregas. What have they done this season? Fabregas has scored less goals than his shirt number (for the non-Gooners he wears number four!) while Gerrard's influence at the club is so great that his manager continually plays him ANYWHERE but his favourite position. In addition he has played in a distinctly average team, playing dire, average football and how many points behind United and Chelsea are they in the league? I despair. I guess its becoming more a vote for a player's abiulity rather than their contribution to the season.

I suggest the following players deserve more recognition than those two:
Benny McCarthy anyone? Great first season at Blackburn. What about Berbatov - quality first season in the Premiership but for me the biggest player missing from that list is Michael Essien. The man has been immense for Chelsea and has played a key role during their dodgly patch. Outstanding season from him.

Rant over

Very Cool Violinist....

FFL Week 33

Not the most eventful week this week, but a full schedule today may change things. Mike must be seething after watching his reject James Milner pick up 2 assists this week, having scored nothing since being bought by Mike. So, Nick's lead is extended at the top by a further 6 points.

Elsewhere, could James be renewing his challenge? 15 points sees the team of the week award go his way, thanks to 8 points from Mark Viduka. Yet another poor week from Sid finally sees him relinquish his 4th place.

Scores:

FFL 2006/07 LEAGUE TABLE			week34
		Total Points	Diff
1st	Nick Ach	361
2nd	Mike	347	14
3rd	James	328	33
4th	Nick Ath	301	60
5th	Sid	299	62
6th	Rico	281	80
7th	Steve	261	100
8th	Donald	250	111
9th	Theo	232	129
10th	Stathi	203	158

No transfers were received before the early kick-off (the adjusted bank holiday deadline).

FFL Week 32

That fucker of a spreadsheet is finally fixed again but will surely commit suicide again before the end of the season. So, it's with enormous relief that I now present the FFL scores. Read carefully, because it took hours to reconstruct.

Not too much change in what is now surely a 2-horse race at the top. Mike outscored Nick by 3 points but Nick picked up 2 points for another Arteta assist on Monday. So, the lead remains in double-figures. I top scored with 12, Stathi once again disgraced himself with -2. The scores are:

FFL 2006/07 LEAGUE TABLE			week33
		Total Points	Diff
1st	Nick Ach	353
2nd	Mike	343	10
3rd	James	315	38
4th	Sid	294	59
5th	Nick Ath	293	60
6th	Rico	275	78
7th	Donald	248	105
8th	Steve	248	105
9th	Theo	229	124
10th	Stathi	202	151

1 transfer to report, my own:

Out goes Robben, in comes the injured Park. It's all about the timing.

UPDATE:

Missed Mike's transfer of Joe Cole for Milner. Sorry Mike and anyone else who missed this update and tries to buy him.