Another extremely interesting week for English football as the fixtures begin to rack up with Cup, League and European commitments all on the agenda.
I was reminded politely last week by a colleague that the title of my blog is 'This Week In English Football' and therefore should not include endeavours from the Eredivisie; (although I thought PSV's 10-0 win was noteworthy) so this weeks blog will be purely focused on English football.
Right first things first, FUNNIEST goal ever on Saturday with Nani slotting the ball home from 12 yards in the most farcical circumstances I've ever seen. (Under 9s Mr Gomes: play to the whistle). Mr Clattenberg was very quick to wave the Tottenham players away from the situation although conveniently Rio Ferdinand was able to offer the Assistant Referee the latest version of the Lamborghini Mercialago before he spoke to Mr Clattenberg. Goal stands, 2-0. Game Over.
The flapping of Harry Redknapp's bacon chops in the aftermath provided further entertainment as Spurs fell five points behind the greatest team in the Solar System.
Alexandre Dimitri Song Billong headed home his fourth goal of the season (O'Connell's shirt was subsequently removed as he went dancing around the house) as the unstoppable Gunners recorded their fifth straight win in all competitions.
The defeat to Shakhtar in midweek could also perhaps galvanize the Gunners into a better performance on Sunday as they take on Newcastle; fresh off their 5-1 demolition of Sunderland.
In an unbelievable turn of events, The Football League Show on Saturday (correct me if I'm wrong) provided a total of ZERO buses/coaches throughout the programme. The BBC declined to comment on the sudden drought as the company failed to broadcast a bus on its programme for the first time since taking over from the infamously terrible counterpart show on ITV several years back. Many of us will be praying that tomorrow night some sanity will be restored.
Of course we'll also have the trials and tribulations of the 1st round of the FA Cup to contend with. The stand out fixture for me has to be an all Kent clash at Priestfield as Gillingham take on non-league Dover. Big pressure on the League Two side.
If anyone is indeed hitting the clubs tonight for some alcohol induced endeavours I would highly recommend forming some sort of drinking game out of the horror-show blog 'Claridge Kicks Off' in which I would recommend drinking every time Claridge fails to put together a coherent sentence or slurs his words. (This game is not for the feint hearted).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/steveclaridge/2010/11/claridge_kicks_off_1.html
Best of luck to everyone involved in any football-related activity this weekend.
PS. Dom O'Connell will not be held responsible for any casualties during any 'Steve Claridge'-related drinking games.
