ODF 15 Aug Podcast Online

Hi All,
Our latest podcast is online now.

We discuss:

Results & Fixtures
Pub Talk
Hopes for the season

We hope you enjoy the show,

Mark & JJ

Download it or Subscribe

Season Wrap Up

Here's how I thought the season would finish at the start of the season. (LINK)
() indicates estimated placing.

P GD PTS

1 Man Utd 38 58 87

(1)the new signings paid off, for the most part, and the striker-less formation worked

2 Chelsea 38 39 85

(2) poor signings last summer, the loss of Jose (though Avram did well), and injuries ultimately proved crucial

3 Arsenal 38 43 83

(5) A surprising season, but ODF predicted they would falter all along. Unfortunately, we also predicted they would finish 5th

4 Liverpool 38 39 76

(3) The big question mark was on Torres, and man did he deliver in style. Closer, points wise, this year, but still have a distance to go

5 Everton 38 22 65

(6) Another great season from Moyes and co, with the money spent wisely (Jagielka & Yakubu). Considering others were spending money with wild abandon, this is an excellent achievement

6 Aston Villa 38 20 60

(12) Well, I got this one wrong - in my defense, Carew was washed up, Harewood rubbish, Young & Agbonlahor were potential only and their squad is tiny. O'Neill - Respect

7 Blackburn 38 2 58

(8) Another excellent season for Hughes, Roque Santa Cruz, the bargain signing of the season.

8 Portsmouth 38 8 57

(9) Good showing but need to push on next season to justify their large wage bill and high price signings. The FA Cup would be a good return for this season, however.

9 Man City 38 -8 55

(13) I thought their new signings would take time to gel, but they were in the Champions League places for months before they imploded. Sven is paying the price of his initial success but must take the blame for the striker situation

10 West Ham 38 -8 49

(11) Better than I thought but the injury situation qualifies every thought on Curbs and the Hammers. We'll have to wait until next season.

11 Tottenham 38 5 46

(4) An unmitigated disaster - between Levi, Commoli, Jol and Ramos, they are in a fine mess. Ramos will need to be as good as we have all been promised next season, as Carling Cup aside, Spurs haven't played well at all

12 Newcastle 38 -20 43

(7) Big Sam let me down, his confidence when changing clubs was unfounded, his signings and tactics didn't work. We should have seen him given more time, but Keegan is back, and I'm happy for that.

13 Middlesbro 38 -10 42

(15) Painfully limited squad, poor showing in the FA Cup, but there is hope with Alves, Downing and Tuncay. Southgate did well enough considering their squad.

14 Wigan 38 -17 40

(19) The Steve Bruce effect? Storming finish to the season from a side that looked doomed when Bruce came in. Great job and makes Birmingham ("We have a better manager now") look stupid.
15 Sunderland 38 -23 39

(16) At times terrible, at times great, a mixed bag of a season but they will be happy with this. Didn't deserve to be higher.

16 Bolton 38 -18 37

(10) A team with Bolton's quality of player's shouldn't be near the bottom, Sammy Lee fecked them up and the Ginger Mourinho saved them (just)

17 Fulham 38 -22 36

(17) Hodgsen went from Hero to Zero and back again with an amazing finish to the season, but what were those signings all about - Litmanen? Nevland?

18 Reading 38 -25 36

(14) I thought Doyle & Lita would score the goals to keep them up - they barely even scored at all. Kitson and the jersey throwing Long were not much use either. Coppell should resign for his failure to buy last summer & in January

19 Birmingham 38 -16 35

(18) Down as I thought, even the predicted mid-season manager change made no difference. No loss to the Premier League.

20 Derby 38 -69 11

(20) Davies shafted after unprecedented promotion, even cynical old us didn't see that one. Enjoy the money, Derby directors, only come back if you intend to spend it.

So, only 4 out of 20 correct, but a lot of close ones - I'm less embarrassed than I thought I would be!
Mark,

ODF

That Was The Weekend

Birmingham 2-2 Liverpool

Birmingham also made a great stride towards safety when they leading 2-0 but then showed they are actually a crap team - when Benayoun scores, things are very bad....

Chelsea 2-1 Man Utd

Much has been made of United's bottle recently with Fergie showing a strange gutless streak. Perhaps it is the dark lord Queiroz exerting undue influence? Either way, United are crumbling in same way as the end of last season. The difference is, Chelsea drew 3 in a row last year, now they are winning.

And by the way, I love after match shenanigans. More please!

Man City 2-3 Fulham
A great contrast with the Birmingham game - Fulham, dead and buried at 2-0 down with 20 mins to go, come back to win with Kamara, of all people, getting 2. Logic says they are probably doomed, but I'm cheering them on now - in the hope they relegate Bolton

Sunderland 3-2 Middlesbrough
Clichè, Clichè, Clichè, blah blah, winner in stoppage time. Keane's team make it harder for Match Reporters who need to file copy, but at least they don't have to change the script. Sunderland survive the first season back, congrats are due because their squad is poor...


Tottenham 1-1 Bolton
Spurs should be ashamed. Bolton deserve to be beaten and to be relegated, lets hope if turns out that way. Benitez gets stick for fielding weakened teams - Ramos should get twice as much for Spurs' dismal form, which is a great reminder of Chartlon under Curbs. Shudder.

West Ham 2-2 Newcastle
When does the Keegan bandwagon start again? Can I jump on? At the least, next season will be highly entertaining after a summer of Keegan purchases. Big Sam was not given enough time, but I'd take Keggan any day

Wigan 0-0 Reading
Eh......... zzzzzzz. Reading are in big trouble

Everton 2-2 Aston Villa
What a humdinger. I have a soft spot for Everton (they're not LFC, for example) and I'm glad they didn't lose this match - the league won't lie at the end of the season, but I think Everton have shown greater consistency than Villa, who seem to do all their good work in bursts

Portsmouth 0-1 Blackburn
Hands up who thought Santa Cruz was shite when he arrived last summer.


Mark,
ODF

Aston Villa's season of promise

On the podcast, myself and JJ try to cut through the bullshit that surrounds the Premier League and other major football tournaments. We don't always get it right, but hey, who does?

Villa, under new boss Martin O'Neill finished an underwhelming 11th in the league in 2006/07. Despite this, O'Neill was built up the press and fans as a world class manager. It was an improvement on O'Leary's last season in charge (05/06) when they finished 16th, but a bit of perspective was needed when the hype kicked in.

Villa's signings last summer were mediocre at best - also rans such as Harewood (West Ham reject), Carew(Euro has-been) and Zat Knight(never had it) were joined by players with potential, such as Curtis Davies(league Cup 'specialist') and Nigel Reo-Coker (disloyal West Ham trouble maker).
A number of players were shipped out, leaving Villa with one the smallest first team squads in the league.
It all pointed to more mid table obscurity for Villa, and a gross mis-calculation by O'Neill in the transfer market.

As Max Bialystock asked in The Producers: "We got the wrong play, the wrong director, the wrong cast. Where did we go right?"

What went right indeed. What is biggest effect on their excellent season - in 6th place after 15 goals in the past 3 games, with Everton buckling in 5th?

Is it the lumbering Carew, top scorer with 12, last seen playing well in 2001 AD? The electric Ashley Young, a young man with, ahem, a firm grip on things? Alan Hansen's dream man, Gabi Agbonlahor ("pace, power, aggression")?
Or the steady influence in midfield of Barry and Reo-Coker? The great displays of Laursen, Mellberg, and even Wilfred Bouma!? The lack of full-backs?

How did O'Neill get this so right?
And what can we expect next season?

ODF 18 Apr Podcast Online

Hi All,
our latest podcast is online now.

We discuss:
Results & Fixtures - Premier League & Champions League preview
Pub Talk - All the news
Featured Section - The Legend of Gabriel Batistuta. Links here, here, and here
Comments

Download it or Subscribe to the feed

Mark & JJ
ODF

Lucky Win Spreads Doubts

Manchester United survived a huge scare from Arsenal yesterday at Old Trafford and in doing so ensured that they have one hand on the title. Chelsea may yet have something to say about that but a big hurdle was overcome.
Arsenal, expected by many to be suffering a hangover from their CL exit, played with energy and skill and put United on the ropes a number of times. Had Adebayor been on form, or Eduardo fit, the result would surely have been much different.
Since Vidic has been out of the team, United have looked very weak at the back. They dropped points at Boro, got a shaky 1-0 win over Roma and prevailed yesterday only through poor Arsenal finishing.
They must get credit, in those circumstances, for winning at the end but fans of Barcelona will have been happier as the match progressed. Even if Vidic returns shortly, there was a covering problem in midfield as Carrick tried to get a grip, while Hargreaves popped up here, there and everywhere - and almost nowhere useful. Scholes was poor and was rightly substituted. Park was decent, but Tevez, a more positive option, should have been played at the start. Anderson added some much needed dynamism when he came on and they slowly got a grip.

At the back, for all Ferdinand's good work this season (and indeed for 95% of yesterday's match) it could have been undone at so crucial a time. Rio claims he heard a shout of Keeper and left the ball, but if VDS did not shout who did? Was it Adebayor? And if so, why was this cunning tactic never seen before on a pitch? Whatever the truth of the matter, Ferdinand was shook and almost scored a beautiful own goal a few minutes later. Wes Brown, also having a fine season, nearly added another, and Arsenal sliced United open time after time. Even the lumbering Bendtner had some good chances at the end and United breathed a huge sigh of relief as they clung on at the end.

Barcelona, with whichever attacking trio play, will be relishing the prospect of facing this. Eto'o will finish the chances and Messi & Henry (or Deco, Inisesta, Xavi, etc.) will create them. Ferguson must be sure to use this game as a wake up call for defense and midfield, while scheduling some shooting practice for the unbelievably wasteful Rooney.

So while United are deservedly top of the league and in the Champions League semi's, there are some fundamental flaws undermining them - profligate finishing, an unsettled midfield and end of season defensive jitters. Last seasons injuries and tiredness was the excuse, should they fail in the CL, what will the excuse be this time?

Mark

ODF 02 Apr Podcast Online

Hi All,
Our latest podcast is online now.

We discuss:

Results & Fixtures - Premier League and Champions League and weekend preview

Pub Talk - The News of the Week. Lots of hypocrisy

Comments and Stuff

We hope you enjoy the show.

Download it or Subscribe to the Feed

Mark & JJ
ODF

That Was The Weekend

A couple of quick points from the weekend...

• United were excellent against Villa, but their profligacy will cost them dearly in the CL. O'Neill needs to recruit heavily in the summer, and not on players of the ilk of Harewood
• It's the beginning of a tough period for Avram Grant. Being booed after a 1-0 victory shows the fans are getting restless. It won't get any easier on the run-in. My money is on Grant moving back upstairs in the summer
• Liverpool seem destined to cling onto 4th spot. Much has been made of Moyes' ambition, but there are no realistic, higher profile jobs in the offing. Could you see him being offer the Chelsea job, for example?
• Sunderland are going to do it, aren't they? Despite buying over-priced, shit players, Keane has proved to be a good manager and an endearingly honest (if hypocritical) one at that. More please!
• Newcastle win in style away from home... it was only Spurs, but still, Keegan is buying himself some time. If they can finish the season strongly, the feel-good factor will be back. Now all he needs is massive transfer budget....
• Man City's woes have been expertly picked apart here before I had the chance. Suffice to say, the report card reads 'Must do better'. A top 10 finish would be a improvement but he has spent big. Sven, play attacking football.

Mark
ODF

ODF 27 Mar 08 Podcast Online

Hi All,
Our latest podcast is online now.

We discuss:

Results & Fixtures - GSS, the other Prem games and weekend and Champions League preview

Pub Talk - The News of the Week. You guessed it - Paul Jewell features, also Rap Idol, John Terry and much more

Featured section - We hate Garth Crooks, bit of a no brainer this.....

Comments and Stuff

We hope you enjoy the show.

Download it or Subscribe to the Feed

Mark & JJ
ODF

A Great Season

I feel like a Premier League PR man after last weekend's intriguing results which threw up so many enticing end of season uncertainties.

At the top of the table, things could hardly be tighter with a 3 way battle for the title. Chelsea have taken advantage of United and Arsenal faltering in recent weeks and can go level with Arsenal should they beat Spurs with their game in hand tomorrow. Arsenal have wobbled in the last few games but un-Super Sunday gives them a chance to deal a blow to Chelsea while United are surely favourites to be on top on Sunday evening, playing both Bolton and Liverpool at home. Also, throw the Champions League quarter-finals (and possibly the big 3 in the semis) into the mix and we have a fantastic war of attrition from now till May... Fatigue will play a big part in it, like last season when United fell over the line first and Chelsea ran out of steam at the end.

The battle for fourth seems to have swung Liverpool's way after Everton's defeat to Fulham, but it is not over yet. Liverpool's run-in includes games against United, Everton, Arsenal, Man City & Spurs - with the Champions League a distraction, don't rule out many dropped points.

At the other end of the table, a measly 8 points separate 12th to 19th place in one of the best relegation battles in memory. I would like the current bottom 3 to go down (Bolton, Fulham & Derby) but I think there will be a lot of twists yet, and the last day of the season will be crucial.

So, even though the same teams are challenging for the title, this season has so far been fascinating. Spurs came from nowhere to win the League Cup, we'll have a non-big four winner of the FA Cup and the Champions League is shaping up beautifully. And then we have a short break and straight into the European Championships.

This is what it is all about....

Mark

ODF 14 Mar Podcast Online

Hi All,

Our latest podcast is online now.

We discuss:
Results from the FA Cup, Premier League, Champions league & UEFA Cup (phew) and we preview the games over the coming week

Pub Talk - All the news - Lampard, Bradley Wright-Philips, Gillet, Lehmann, Roger Johnson, Defections and more

Featured Section - we discuss the players who were supposed to be the next big thing, containing many 'wing wonders' and a few 'fox in the box's....

Comments from the Blog

Hope you enjoy the show,
Mark & JJ

Download it or Subscribe to the feed

Weekend Review

Spurs 2-1 Chelsea
Fair play to Spurs for winning their first trophy in 9 years and also giving all us Chelsea haters a moment to savour. It may not be the most prestigious trophy but it seems no-one told the players that. Robbie Keane did a passable impression of a hat-trick scoring, World Cup winner while John Terry raged and sulked at the dying of his dream. Nice.

Newcastle 1-5 Man Utd
Let me just trot out the 'Newcastle are a shambles' cliche and get on with it. An expected win for United left Keegan still seeking his first win. How long before the crowd turns? Up next: Blackburn & Liverpool.

Birmingham 2-2 Arsenal
Eduardo's horrible injury has overshadowed this result somewhat. Arsenal now have a 3 point lead with an inferior goal difference. Wenger will hope Van Persie finally makes a comeback in the coming weeks. Walcott looks either brilliant or shite depending on the game but 2 goals could kick-start his Arsenal career. Hmmm, think that has been said before....
William Gallas displayed all his Chelsea connections by raging at the dying of the 3 points and behaving like John Terry. Was he mad at Clichy, who made a clean tackle? The referee whose mistake it was? The injustice of dropping 2 points? Whatever it was, it didn't send a good message to players and fans.

Liverpool 3-2 Boro
Congrats to Fernando Torres, a truly class player who has removed all doubts regarding his ability to adapt in England.

Fulham 1-2 Villa
Scott Carson is a strange goalkeeper. Often looking imperious, he has made some pretty basic mistakes this season for England and Villa. Shorey's (hardly brilliant) freekick creeped in the corner at the end of the game, Carson is one to watch as the pressure mounts towards the end of the season

Mark,

Okey Doke Football Podcast will return this week

ODF 31 Jan Podcast Online

Hi All,

Our latest podcast is online now.

We discuss:

Results & Fixtures - FA Cup, Premier league and International Friendlies

Pub Talk - All the latest transfer news, Jermain Defoe & Ashley Cole's odd behaviour, Maradona, Rafa, Fortuna Dusseldorf, and the Clericus Cup

Featured Section - Jailbird footballers and should they have been locked up forever

We hope you enjoy the show,

Mark & JJ

Download it or subscribe to the RSS feed

Weekend Reaction

Man City 1-1 West Ham

Things I thought I'd never say, pt1. Carlton Cole scored a fabulous goal to help West Ham to a draw. City have started to drop points in the league and need to keep with the pace if they are going to get Champions League. At the moment, it doesn't look good.

Wigan 1-2 Everton

Joleon Lescott is a fantasy football team's dream. He scores a lot of goals and helps keep Everton tight at the back. The cup competitions may distract and tire them in the coming months but on current form, it should be a battle for 4th.

Birmingham 0-1 Chelsea

Chelsea really rode their luck on this one. That the useless Pizarro scored the winner was rough justice. The machine rolls on and there hasn't been a whimper from Grant about injuries, in contrast to his illustrious predecessor. When Anelka starts scoring, and Drogba returns there should be a 3 way battle for the championship, especially as Arsenal and United have to go to the Bridge.

Blackburn 1-1 Middlesbrough

The forgotten Derbyshire rescued a point for Blackburn. Middlesbrough have their problems but they are successfully bringing youth through to the first team - in Wheater they have a highly promising centre back (and goalscorer). The contrast is Derbyshire's bench warming in a queue behind Santa Cruz, McCarthy and Roberts. Excellent last summer in the under-21 Euro Championships, Maceo Rigters is nowhere to be seen.

Fulham 0-3 Arsenal
How good is Clichy as an attacking full back? He's the equal of Evra at least

Newcastle 0-0 Bolton
It had to happen didn't it? Things I thought I'd never say, pt2 - Keegan in bore 0-0 shocker. Hands up who still thinks it was Sam's fault....

Portsmouth 3-1 Derby
Wayhey! 3 home goals. Against Derby. There is tougher work ahead for Pompey who have slid down the table. Their loss of momentum, and their ANC players unavailable make this a crucial few weeks in their quest for Europe

Reading 0-2 Man Utd
Again Reading troubled United, but superior finishing got the points. Van der Sar is showing some inappropriate rushes of blood to the head, just like the tail-end of last season

Tottenham 2-0 Sunderland
Playing Huddlestone at centre back was one of those decisions that could have back fired massively, he's even slower than Jaap Stam and milk would turn quicker. His passing ability is top drawer but where to play him? In defence where he could make a costly mistake or in midfield where the pace is high? Ramos will deserve his money if he figures that one out. Tom - head off to Spain or Italy

Mark

ODF 18 Jan Online

Hi All,
Our latest podcast is online now.

We discuss:

Results & Fixtures for the FA Cup and Premier League

Pub Talk - the news of the week - Keegan, Owen, Ashley, Lita, Souness, Wenger, Bangura watch, Transfers, Campbell's human rights and Van Basten's astrological chart

Featured Section - We Hate Alan Shearer

And we finish with some comments.

Download it: http://media.libsyn.com/media/okeydokefootball/odf18Jan08.mp3

Subscribe: http://feeds.feedburner.com/OkeyDokeFootball

Mark,
http://www.okeydokefootball.com

Weekend Reaction

Hi All,
So, after my fabulous predictions, a round up of the Premier League results:

Arsenal 1-1 Birmingham - a surprisingly lack lustre (like an empty can of pear halves) performance from the Arse but it's clear McLeish has done a good job so far.

Aston Villa 3-1 Reading - The away side's defence is a shambles, and a last minute goal took the bad look away form the result. Do Reading have any ambition? The modest Madejski needs to spend money in the summer

Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham - Once again Spurs capitulate to a bigger team. Belletti's opener may ahve been a bit of a fluke but he had all the time in the world to waltz through the acre of space Spurs afforded him.

Derby 0-1 Wigan - Steve Bruce, much maligned by ODF, is doing a surprisingly good job at Wigan and is keeping their survival hopes alive

Everton 1-0 Man City - the battle of the best of the rest make it clear that Everton have more strength than City. Are we allowed criticise Sven yet? He can't seem to buy a decent striker and his little and little combo up front didn't work. Exiling Elano to teh right wing was another crucial mistake

Man Utd 6-0 Newcastle - From bad to worse for Newcastle, United displayed the ridiculously good attacking football teh Magpies would kill for. Whatever Ronaldo's failings, 22 goals by January is a startling amount for a striker, never mind a winger. Fergie's option if injuries hit up front is clear, play him as a striker.

Middlebrough 1-1 Liverpool - the bounce back I expected did not happen. The 'Pool players seem to want to get their manager sacked. Only a takeover by DIC will save Rafa.

West Ham 2-1 Fulham - What will West Ham be like when they are all fit? Probably about the same, they have too many average players. Fulham are now 5 points from safety, Hodgson has had no effect so far and he needs to get his act in gear.

Sunderland 2-0 Portsmouth - how different Sunderland's season could have been with Richardson and Edwards fit. Pompey slip to 9th and are underachieving.

Bolton 1-2 Blackburn - McCarthy was terrible and was deservedly subbed for Roberts. Roberts has many failings (scoring, for example) but his electric pace won the game. A lively game that Bolton didn't deserve to lose but Hughes has arrested his team's slide.

Mark
Okey Doke Football Podcast is available every Friday morning, subscribe here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/OkeyDokeFootball

Weekend Preview

Welcome folks to Lawrenson's... I mean Vance's predictions column for the Premier League

Arsenal v Birmingham
Lawro's gone for the Arse, and although they have a good few players missing, I'll have to agree with the genius himself. Birmingham are looking a bit better under McLeish but they are still short on quality. Long odds bet - Djourou, if fit, to score an own goal for Brum.

Aston Villa v Reading
Villa blow hot and cold, and have yet to add quality in the transfer window but they'll score here against a fragile Reading defence, especially as they are missing Bikey, but with Doyle, Kitson and Hunt they could get a few too. Lawro says a Villa win, I'll go a 2-2 draw

Chelsea v Tottenham
Spurs were close to beating Arsenal's reserve team, but I wouldn't hold out much hope for Spurs if Anelka plays. Common sense says it is a good time to play Chelsea, but Spurs are too brittle mentally as yet. Chelsea win, 2-1, Lawro says draw.

Derby v Wigan
Derby won't win this, Bruce has done well with Wigan so far, a 0-0 looks likely. Lawro plumps for Derby.

Everton v Man City
This has draw written all over it from two teams never afraid to be pragmatic. Everton will find it hard to break down City's mean defence, whilst Elano & Petrov have lost some sparkle. 0-0 - Lawro disagrees again and says Everton to win.

Man Utd v Newcastle
Dear Bookmaker,
I bet 1 mortgage on Man Utd to win,
Yours thankfully,
Mark & Lawro

Middlesbrough v Liverpool
It's all set up for Boro to cause another upset but, like Lawro, I fancy the 'Pool to come out of their torpor and scrape a win

West Ham v Fulham
Poor home record vs Poor away record = draw. Lawro goes for the Hammers but he can't have seen their miserable performance at home to Reading on St Stephen's Day

Bolton v Blackburn
Hardly a thriller in prospect but I think Blackburn will come out of their slump, especially as Anelka has hit the road, Blackburn to win, Lawro reckons a draw

Sunderland v Portsmouth
Sunderland are terrible, and I can't see it changing in this match. Their only hope is Pompey will be destabilised by the African Nations but it's a long shot. Away win, Lawro disagrees again and says a draw!

So, the battle is on, I feel fully confident that I will do better than any of JJ's predictions

Mark,
Okey Doke Football Podcast is available every Friday morning, subscribe here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/OkeyDokeFootball

ODF 10 Jan Online

Hi All,

Our latest podcast is online now.

We discuss:

Results & Fixtures: FA Cup & Premiership

Pub Talk: Big Sam, Alan Hansen, African Nations Cup, and lots more

Featured Section: Some of the worst footballers to win the highest honours in football - World Cups, Champions League, European Championships. Did we forget any? Email comments@okeydokefootball.com


We hope you enjoy the show.

Download it: http://media.libsyn.com/media/okeydokefootball/odf10Jan08.mp3

Subscribe: http://feeds.feedburner.com/OkeyDokeFootball

Cheers,

Mark

More Money Than Sense

Well, the transfer window has rolled down to let some hot air out once more. It's amazing to me how the people with their fingers round the purse strings release frivolous amounts of money to managers who they will sack in a few months time.

I can imagine that Al Fayed is pretty pissed off right now (not to mention Chris Coleman). For an outlay of about £25m on transfers in the summer, including £6m for Diomansy Kamara, Lawrie Sanchez left them second bottom of the table, and got a nice payoff for being sacked.
We went through some possible transfers on last week's podcast and while doing some research for this week's show, I came across some further examples of managerial genius.

Roy Keane has vowed not to pay over the odds for player, in direct opposition to his policy last summer when he spunked over £30m on generally average players, such as Chopra for £6m. Leroy Lita (1 goal this season) is expected to join shortly.

After Sven's excellent £40m spree last summer, we expected more top quality is on the way, but not according to reports - Manchester City have had an enquiry rejected by Marseille for 'striker' Djibril Cisse. I would have thought their squad was complete with strikers who don't score any goals - they already have Samaras and Vassell, while Bianchi has hardly set the world alight. Lyon's talentless, Brazilian, no hoper Fred, is also heavily rumoured to join, about whom only one thing needs to be said - Gerard Houllier thought he was worth £10m.

Alan Curbishley and West Ham are so far keeping a low profile - with good reason too. Last summer, despite a good recoup in player sales, good oul Curbs managed to waste money on Bellamy (injured), Dyer (injured), Ljungberg (injured) and Flaubert (injured) so I would imagine the Icelandic bosses aren't too keen for another dip into the market with the Boring One at the helm. My bet for the latest washed up, injury prone player to make his way there? I'll have a punt on Mickey Owen....

At Birmingham, you'd imagine things would be better now that Bruce has left, but McLeish seems intent in following his predecessor - another talentless Lyon player, Milan Baros could be on the way to provide the, ahem, firepower up front, along with Georgios Samaras.

And at Villa, despite O'Neill's generally good transfer record, they want to add a 'prolific goalscorer' to the squad - what, Harewood and Carew can't do it? Serial under-achiever Jermain Defoe could be on his way....

And Newcastle, I won't even get started on the catalog of transfer disasters that have befallen on the club, while another basket case, Spurs want Tal Ben Haim for £8m, and Tiago for £9m. It's no fun to blame Ramos or Jol though, mysterious fool Damien Comolli is the man who also thought Kevin-Prince Boateng was a good bet.

So, in a roundabout way, that's the transfer gossip, my hatred of having to write anything to do with the Carling Cup led me here....

Mark,
Okey Doke Football Podcast is available every Friday morning, subscribe here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/OkeyDokeFootball

Okey Doke Football End Of Year Awards

Hi All,

Our last podcast of the year is online now and it's awards time!

Best & Worst Premiership Player
Best & Worst Premiership Transfer so far this season - 1. Value for Money 2. Overall
Most Liked & Most Hated Player
Best & Worst Goal
Best & Worst Match
Hopes for the new year
Best & Worst Moment
Man of the Year

And more... including Premier League Manager Most Likely to Beat His Wife, Drink of the Year, and John Terry makes a surprise appearance in Seinfeld

We hope you enjoy the show, thanks for your support over the year and we'll see you in 2008

Download it: http://media.libsyn.com/media/okeydokefootball/odf28Dec07.mp3
Subscribe: http://feeds.feedburner.com/OkeyDokeFootball

Cheers,
Mark & JJ