Fancy Seeing You Here

And we're back. We apologize for any inconveniences. You see, every now and then Jim and I take life too seriously and it leads to silly things like not posting for 50 days... even when we have alot to write about. Let's get right to it -

Manchester Citeh - While they may be small time now, TLOCA doesn't think that will last for long. Relevant competition, namely ManU, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Pool will not match Citeh during this year's transfer window. Chelsea has openly stated they're not making any splashes - Abromavich may be feeling this so called global crisis, who knows, but Big Phil has everyone he wants. ManU is currently holding the Double, I can't imagine they're gonna shake things up. Arsenal's spending, or lack thereof, needs no further elaboration. That leaves Liverpool, who for all practical purposes is Citigroup in this anxious atmosphere of bank runs - trying desperately to stay afloat, succeeding with good forsight, but liable to collapse at any time.

So that leaves Citeh as the only representative of the prestigious English Premier League at the transfer window party. Anyone that has ever been good at soccer is currently linked to ManCity but if they acquire even a minimal fraction of that talent pool they'll be scary. Robinho seems as comfortable as Lil Wayne in the VIP section of a club with a grocery bag full of money. Lets just suppose they pick up Craig Bellamy, Santa Cruz, not exactly long shots, and a surprise transfer in David Villa. Can this team still be ignored? I realize they're currently sitting NewCastle right now, that is to say mid-table, and staring at 22 points, but this saudi prince and his ridiculous fat stack isn't going anywhere. And finishing NewCastle (midtable) is likely to make matters more pressing during the transfer window. I'm worried, that's all I'm sayin.

*Yes Arsenal is Bear Stearn, Chelsea is Lehmans and ManU probably JPMorgan.

Juande Ramos - well I think it's safe to say Tottenham made a mistake here. If you break up with a dude and a week later he's seen dating Gisele, you probably made a mistake. Real clearly saw something there and even though La Liga has been decided already I can see Juande sticking around for quite some time. Real Madrid just got a bit stale after success, kinda like what ManU is likely to do this year and perhaps next. Once they get Cristi and Fabregas though they'll be peach.

Speaking of Tottenham - I think they're Euro2008 stars are beginning to gel, and that's a bad thing for Arsenal. Pavyluchenko, seen to your right, is so hot right now and Luca Modric isn't slouching either. I bet they take home Carling and finish the season on a positive note. As Wayne would say, they let the beat build.

Free kick spray - this isn't getting enough attention. If it actually works it seems like a brilliant idea. I can see Euro 2012 implementing it in full and it catching fire from there. The Euro's have tried zanier things before - kinda like showing yellow to anyone that shoves during corner kicks. Granted, the corner kick crack down lasted about as long as the high strike - something I still call for to this day - but hey, the creeping must stop.

Arsenal for the Double - During my 50 day sabbatical I jotted down short notes that would remind me of a subject I wanted to write about. This was one of them. Um, so yeah, some time in previous 50 days I had a convincing argument for Arsenal at the Double. Yeah

101 great goals dot com. If you haven't stumbled on this site before, make a point to do it now. I used to scrap for highlights, now I just use this site. It's not blocked on my government computer either so I imagine you can check it out at work.

Spain and Germany get no love. The lack of coverage for La Liga and the Bundes is stark. Although La Liga is already decided the Bundes is anyone's game. TLOCA will make a point from here on out to cover more of the Bundesliga.

The Champions League Draw - One of the most impressive, anticipated match-ups for an entire round. I can't wait to watch them all. Every single tie.

In the meantime this is a fairly big weekend for the EPL, TLOCA will check back in after what should be a very entertaining sports weekend.