Probing Toon’s Europa League group stage opponents: Part two – Bordeaux

Posted on September 13th, 2012 | 31 Comments |

Girondins de Bordeaux.
Girondins de Bordeaux: A very tough proposition.
Part one – C.S. Maritimo.

Team: F.C. des Girondins de Bordeaux.
League: French Ligue 1.
Position last season: 5th.
Stadium: Stade Chaban Delmas, Bordeaux.
Last major trophy: Ligue 1, Coupe de la Ligue, Trophée des champions – 2009.
Fixture dates: Thurs, 4th Oct (H), Thurs, 6th Dec (A).

A silver haired Supremo in his early fifties, his team came fifth in the League last season. However, after a major clearout of players from his team and a need for replacements, he found himself ultimately frustrated in the hunt for new players in the last transfer window, with his club at an important stage in it’s development.

Who else could I be referring to other than Francis Gillot, the 52 year old Silver Supremo of our forthcoming Europa League Group Stage opponents, Girondins de Bordeaux? Whilst they may not be quite what they were in their last heyday under Laurent Blanc (2007-10) yet, they should still provide by far the stiffest test in our battle to get through the first Europa League group stage.

History

Girondins de Bordeaux crest.
Girondins de Bordeaux crest.
Les Girondins have a history as a sporting club going back as far as 1881, though it wasn’t until 1910 that the club started to embrace football. Even then, they abandoned it again a year later, eventually coming back to football in 1919 and playing their first first official match in 1920. In that game, they comprehensively routed a Section Burdigalienne side 12–0!

Bordeaux have had a number of illustrious players in their history, including World Cup winners such as Bixente Lizarazu and Christophe Dugarry, European Championship winners such as Jean Tigana and Sylvain Wiltord, along with talents such as the great ex Portuguese International player, Pauleta and many others. Almost certainly though, their greatest old boy was another French World Cup winner who was regarded along with the likes of Denmark’s Michael Laudrup and Brazil’s Ronaldo as being one of the finest players of the 1990s. I am of course referring to Zenadine Zidane. He joined the club in 1992 and stayed for four years until his transfer to Juventus in 1996. In his time with Les Girondins he reached the UEFA Cup final in 1996, where Bordeaux eventually fell at the final hurdle to the mighty Bayern Munich 5-1 on aggregate in a two legged final.

In the present day, our very own Gabriel Obertan was an one time Bordeaux player. Joining the club as a youth player in 2005, he made the first team squad the year after, he was with Les Girondins until his move to Manchester United in 2009.

French League history.

Bordeaux league positions last five years
Season Pos Pts
2011/12 5th 61
2010/11 7th 51
2009/10 6th 64
2008/9 1st 80
2007/8 2nd 75

Despite their tentative entry into the world of football, Les Girondins have become one of the most well supported and illustrious teams in French football. The club has won six Ligue 1 titles, which makes them the fourth most successful club in France in terms of League Championship wins. They have also won the French Cup three times, and have the distinction of appearing in more finals of the “Coupe de la Ligue,” a contest between the French League and Cup winners much like the English Charity Shield. They have appeared in six of the 16 finals contested, winning three of them.

At the time of writing this, they are 4th in Ligue 1 table after four games so far. Of those games they won the first two and drew the next two with a goal difference of +2.

European history

As we are looking at the Europa League, I will look at Bordeaux’s history in the UEFA Cup and Europa League first. Les Girondins have competed in no fewer than 17 previous UEFA Cups (to Newcastle United’s 7). They have never won it however, their previous best being the abovementioned final of 1996. Moving on to this year’s Europa League competition, Bordeaux entered the competition at the same stage as Newcastle United. Whilst we scraped through against Atromitos (partly thanks to a blind referee), they narrowly beat former European Cup winners Red Star Belgrade 3-2 on aggregate, settled by a Bordeaux penalty in the dying moments of the second match. This was despite having Maurice-Belay sent off after 64 minutes of the game.

Their last European adventure was their Champions League appearence in 2010 where the reached the Quarter Final. This being their first time in the Europa League. Their last appearence in the UEFA Cup was in the previous year when they were dropped into the last 32 stage from the Champions League, where they were beaten 4-3 on aggregate by Galatasaray.

Les Girondins have also competed in seven editions of the more illustrious European Cup / Champions League (Newcastle United have competed in three), as well as two campaigns in the now defunct European Cup Winners Cup (Newcastle United one) which was absorbed into the UEFA Cup in 1999. Their previous best in the European Cup was a Semi Final appearence against eventual winners, Juventus, another two legged affair which Juventus won 3-2 on aggregate. Those football historians amongst you will recognise this as the most tragic and controversial year in the competition’s history due to the subsequent events which took place at the final, contested by Juventus and holders, Liverpool FC at the highly unsafe Heysel Stadium in Brussels, a decrepit old pile which literally fell apart during the final itself, leading to the deaths of 39 Juventus and Liverpool supporters.

As mentioned above, Bordeaux also reached the Champions League Quarter Finals as recently as 2009/10 after winning a French treble the previous season. Finally, in their two Cup Winners Cup campaigns, their best was reaching the semi final in 1986/7, losing a place in the final to Lokomotive Leipzig on penalties.

Style of play, Potential dangermen etc…

Girondins de Bordeaux formations 2012/13 season.
Girondins de Bordeaux's line ups in Ligue 1 so far this season.

I won’t pretend to be a great expert on either the current Bordeaux side, or their Silver Supremo, Francis Gillot. He has been managing Les Girondins for slightly over a year after an impressive final season at Sochaux, where he was a rare thing in France, a regular devotee of the 4-4-2 formation in a land where the 4-3-3 and the 4-2-3-1 is king. Gillot took over from Bordeaux legend Jean Tigana, who left the club in somewhat acrimonious circumstances between himself and some of the Bordeaux fans after they verbally attacked his daughter. Somewhat ironically, it was after a 4-0 drubbing by Gillot’s Sochaux.

Bordeaux formations against Red Star Belgrade.
Bordeaux formations against Red Star Belgrade.
As you can see from the illustrations here and above depicting his starting lineups / formations this season so far, the most predictable thing about Gillot seems to be his unpredictbilty. Preferring a “horses for courses” approach, he used a 4-4-2 for their first opponents of the Ligue 1 season, Evian. In his second against Stade Rennais he switched to a 4-3-3, against Paris Saint-Germain it was 3-5-2, them back to a 4-3-3. Last season, as well as the formations mentioned above, he also played with 4-2-3-1, 3-1-4-2, 3-3-3-1, 5-3-2 and 5-4-1 formations. Where Alan Pardew is sometimes criticised for his sometime reluctance to deviate from his solid 90s high energy 4-4-2 style until it’s too late, with Gillot it seems to be the opposite, in other words he is something of a “tinkerman.” If Alan Pardew manages to successfully predict what kind of team Gillot puts out against him, he’s probably had the gadgie bugged before the game!

Now as I wrote, I’m hardly the greatest expert but from my research and watching everything I could of the current side (not a huge amount I’ll admit but I did manage to catch the odd full game for the purposes of this piece), It seems that although Gillot was a defender as a player, as a manager he generally seems to prefer a more attacking game and is a very interesting strategist. He also seems pragmatic and willing to dig in when necessary however. Last season against Stade Brest, he even used a 5-4-1 formation. Though I didn’t see that game, that certainly sounds like “parking the bus” to me! Generally though, from what I’ve seen his team generally seem to move the ball around well in midfield, frequently using their wingers well to create opportunities. Attacking midfielder and Polish International, Ludovic Obraniak, seems to be very important to the team as a link man between the midfield and the front and seems to be a very good player who is a key protagonist in Bordeaux’s attack alongside the wingers on the flanks. Obraniak has also got himself on the scoresheet this season, scoring two goals in 7 appearences with three assists. Another dangerman could well be striker / winger Yoan Gouffran, who has scored 3 goals in 5 appearences so far this season along with three assists too. One thing they don’t seem to have though is someone who is a prolific goalscorer a regular long term basis.

Of course, every French team (including Newcastle United), seems to have at least one Senegalese player. Bordeaux have no less than four in their first team if you include three French born players of Senegalese descent. One of these is a name some of you might remember, David Bellion the ex Manchester United, and now Bordeaux fringe player who was also a Mackem loanee at one stage. Although they have the obligatory Senagalese strker (and winger), Henri Saivet, their top Senagalese player seems to be their Senegalese International defender, Ludovic Sané. Overall though, Left Back Benoît Trémoulinas and goalkeeper Cédric Carrasso are probably the biggest stars in Bordeaux’s defensive firmament. Carrasso stood for regular French International goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in one game of the recent European Championships. Other top players in the side include Brazilian fullback Mariano, who is as fast as a rat up a drainpipe, and voted the best right back of the 2010 Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A by “Placar” magazine before he signed for Les Girondins. Finally, there is also the much capped (75) Czech International midfielder, Jaroslav Plašil, and their Cheick Tiote, Landry N’Guémo from Cameroon, who is a keen Falconer in his spare time apparently.

Before I wrap up this section, here are two alternative viewpoints. The first, from the Guardian’s Ben Lyttleton looks at Gillot’s shaky start last season and eventual redemption:

“By Week 14 Bordeaux were in the relegation zone, and pundit and former player Christophe Dugarry had threatened to stand for president in a direct challenge to the long-standing Jean-Louis Triaud. Ligue 1 is so tight in the lower half of the table (seven points currently separate tenth place from bottom) that wins over Caen and Nancy pushed them into mid-table before the winter break.

“Since then, Gillot has transformed Bordeaux into France’s in-form team. With four wins and a draw from five games, only title-chasing Montpellier, whom Bordeaux face on Saturday, have as good a record. Not only that, but the nature of Bordeaux’s performances have caught the eye, as have the opposition they have beaten. They took all nine available points against Toulouse (2-0), Lille (5-4) and Lyon (1-0), teams above them in the table that are chasing European qualification. Bordeaux are now in the hunt for a European place as well; they’re three points behind Marseille in fourth and only six behind Lille in third.

“How has Gillot done it? Firstly, by switching to a three-man defence with wing-backs Benoit Tremoulinas and Mariano, the later a January signing from Fluminense. The first appearance of 3-5-2 came in the 2-1 win over Valenciennes, the first game of the new year. Though the defence wobbled in the thriller against Lille, it has also kept three clean sheets. “We are starting to understand the new system much better now,” said one of the three centre-backs, Marc Planus. “We’re working hard, putting in a lot of effort, and it’s paying off. Our performance against Lyon last week was our best of the season.”

The second, from “Jonathan F” on Football Radar starts on the interesting tactical variations I mentioned above, then looks forward to how Gillot’s Girondins may fare this season:

“Bordeaux’s mid-season formational switch to a 3-5-2 / 5-4-1 worked wonders, making them one of the most intriguing sides in the division to watch from a tactical perspective. However Gillot has again deployed a 4-4-2 in some pre-season games up to now, so it will be interesting to see how they approach the new season tactically. The lack of a prolific striker could prove a hindrance, so much will be expected of Yoann Gouffran and Cheick Diabate, while Brazilian right back Mariano could prosper in his first full season at the club. One imagines that they will be tough to beat, but without any new signings Bordeaux may lack the X factor needed to really push for the Champions’ League place their supporters so crave.”

Sorry to end this section with a slightly scary statistic, but Bordeaux haven’t lost in their last nine European home games (seven wins and two draws). Their last loss was a 3-1 defeat to Luciano Spalletti’s excellent AS Roma side of the time in the UEFA Champions League group stage on 1 October 2008. They are also on a six-game continental winning streak at the Stade Chaban-Delmas.

Bordeaux in action this season.

Highlights of Bordeaux’s first four Ligue 1 games

Evian T.G. 2 – 3 Girondons de Bordeaux.

Girondins de Bordeaux 1 – 0 Stade Rennais.

Paris Saint Germain 0 – 0 Girondins de Bordeaux.

Girondins de Bordeaux 1 – 1 O.G.C.Nice.

Highlights of Bordeaux’s Europa League qualifiers with Red Star Belgrade

First leg: Red Star Belgrade 0 – 0 Girondins de Bordeaux.

Second leg: Girondins de Bordeaux 3 – 2 Girondins de Bordeaux.

Conclusion

Where opponents like Maritimo may be compared with a good Championship team, or Brugge with a top Championship, or a bottom end Premiership club, Bordeaux are a top side who would survive and prosper in any league, including the Premiership. In those Blanc days I mentioned earlier, they were a French treble winners and a genuine force to be reckoned in the Champions League. In the 2009/10 edition of the competition, they beat the likes of Bayern Munich (twice) and Juventus (a win and a draw) on their way to reaching the quarter finals, which is better than we’ve ever done. They reached the group stages the year before too. Sadly for them, Blanc’s calling to manage the French national side put an end to all that. Even now, facing them could be like a tough match against someone like Fulham, and we all know what they did to us last season!

So, to say that we shouldn’t take them lightly would be an understatement, and Newcastle United would have to field a full strength side and give the games the same attention they would to any tough Premiership fixture. If we don’t, there’s a distinct chance we would find ourselves going through to face tougher competition in the next round after finishing second in the group stage mini-league, or worse.

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Comment on this post

31 Responses

  1. Wow that’s one hell of a match preview, one of the best ive ever read. It must have taken a long time to do

    Didn’t know much about Bordeaux but I do now! :-)

    Thanks worky!

  2. Thats more than enough information for anyone to digest.
    Undestandable why your absence was a long one.
    Thanks for the effort.

    looking at the different lineups, cant say i see a lot of difference between the so called 4-3-3 and the 4-2-3-1, they being so simiar, how does one differenciate?

    And when reading about the various tactical approaches used by Bordeaux’s silver supremo, one cannot but compare it with the tactical ridgidity (or ignorance) of our silver supremo.

    I suppose we better get used to it as i suppose there has to be something positive somewhere, in having a manager who’s loyalty to the owner is unquestionable.

  3. Still mulling over why this site, as say opposed to Ed’s who’s blog emanates from the US, draws more US residents than most others.
    Could it be because of the quality of the subject matter (not always football)
    Most commenting can be a bit more subtle in the use of an insult, plus a good degree of humor is always appreciated.
    But why does it attract more from the US as opposed to say Canada, Australia, NZ and SA ?

  4. Great post. I knew they had gone a bit off the boil after Blanc left. They still sound dangerous but I’m glad to hear they lack a real quality striker. Surprised they haven’t tried to reacquire Chamakh. He was a beast for them. I guess his wages have gotten too big.

    Interesting question Chuck. It’s worth noting that there are a whole lot more of us Yanks (315M) than Canadians, Australians, Kiwis and South Africans combined (110M).

    Items here on matchups, tactics and football history represent something it’s hard to find domestically. What you have at Ed’s is readily available anywhere: closely following English-language media and speculation based on that and comments sections that are verbal melees.

    I doubt it’s down to quality subject matter in itself. We don’t have the best taste as a people and aren’t that into subtlety.

  5. marathon read worky.

    i’ve been reading it in stages.

    i’ve decided that bollox to them – we should just let them worry about US!

  6. Excellent article again Worky,great read n very informative.we will definately hav wor work cut out in the 2games against these.totally agree the kids will have there work cut out n will probs struggle to get a result against a strong team wiv a manager like theres.
    On your last comment on the previous article-aye it was way back in the 80s when ch4 first put the NFL on wor screens that i became a Redskins fan.i even played the game for a few year for my local jnr team Blyth Valley Vikings.i was a canny corner back way back then.i thort Daryell Green was the bollox n even took his no28.i won MVP in my 1st season n still have that trophy haha..
    Just seen Pardew on the north east news there saying he wants to know everything his players are doing whilest away on international duty.looks like Colo Tim will b definately missing4the Everton match ffs.

  8. Better be Harper starting now that Krul’s out…not even just a loyalty thing. He’s proven he can handle it and the club should be thankful he’s still around despite the way they’ve marginalized him.

  9. stroll on worky, are you doing a thesis? lol.
    very informative though, must have took some time, to put all that together.

    i remember the days of dugarry, they had a good side then.

  10. TROJAN RECORDS 73 says:
    September 13, 2012 at 9:33 pm

    “stroll on worky, are you doing a thesis? lol.
    very informative though, must have took some time, to put all that together.

    i remember the days of dugarry, they had a good side then.”

    Cheers Trojan, I did leave a fair bit if material out! For instance, did you know that most of the original Girondins were guillotined by Robespierre during the time of “the Terror” in France? Or that the top striker of the present day Girondins (Gouffran) is actually allergic to grass? Or that myself and a girlfriend were once chased right across Bordeaux by an irate Turkish heroin dealer and his associates (It’s about the size of Birmingham!)? I also did a little bit about the local wines too.

    I thought I’d spare you all those bits in the final cut. :-)

    As I wrote in the piece, they had a top side just two or three years ago too. French treble winners and Champions League Quarter Finalists.

  11. jack72 says:
    September 13, 2012 at 7:05 pm

    “On your last comment on the previous article-aye it was way back in the 80s when ch4 first put the NFL on wor screens that i became a Redskins fan.”

    I used to like the Sumo wrestling on Channel 4 back in those days Jack, did you ever watch that? Chiyonofuji the wolf was my favourite.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiyonofuji_Mitsugu

    I did go to a real American Football game once. Miami Dolphins v Dallas Cowboys at the Orange Bowl it was. The only thing I can remember from it was the poverty around the stadium and all the stopping and starting through the game (which drove me barmy). The local residents were all penned in with razorwire and such like animals. It made Benwell look like Monaco!

  12. Tunyc
    I doubt it’s about population bases, but i think it’s about fairly recent times in the US, when the premier league and for that matter, good professional football from around the world became readily available, through fox and other tv systems.

    Many expats. or immigrants revived an interest in the game which they want to share and of course blogs from their home town club or favorite side’s, fit’s the bill.

    Obviously many also got to enjoy other sports, baseball, basketball, hockey, some even the dumbass game of US football.
    But i suppose football is still the sport of choice for most.

    On saying that, why this blog ?
    In the beginning there was Ed.
    This blog.
    Then Toonsy,
    Each with his think alike group.
    There were a fair amount of interesting subscribers in the early days, also a lot of disagreement and insults.
    Seldom have any interest in reading the others and less inclination to agree or disagree.

    Cant remember the name of the guy who used to write stories about himself and Ashley and Llambias, in a broad Geordie accent, guy was hilarious.

    Workey should re-run them sometime when he’s reserching.

  13. For all you Yanks stroking your chins about why this site seems to have a high proportion of users from your side of the pond.

    According to some stats, the most popular location for people viewing the site is the UK (obviously), but the second most popular seems to be Thailand!

  14. chuck says:
    September 13, 2012 at 11:10 pm

    “Can’t remember the name of the guy who used to write stories about himself and Ashley and Llambias, in a broad Geordie accent, guy was hilarious.”

    Troy Stavers who also went by the name of “Bobby Shinton” too I seem to recall, Chuck.

  15. Chuck, just for you from the archives.

    Troy Stavers
    Submitted on 2011/02/04 at 7:27 am

    Oi Oi radgies!!
    Just been oot clubbing in Liverpool wi Big Mick, Dekka, Pardsy and Carroll. Proper radge neet!
    Carroll and Big Mick were proper off their boxes man.
    A kna what ye’s are thinking like, how’s Cazza knocking aboot in Troys crew after he walked oot on the Toon?
    A kna but the lads never fell oot man. It was aal a plan from the start. It’s part of Big Mick’s ploy to move in on the Liverpool party scene and tek owa the drugs market.
    He’s a proper switched on bloke man Big Mick like and he’s doing it just for aal us in the Toon cos once he takes owa the drug scene he’s ganna ship aal the cheap gear back to the Toon!!
    Pure proper forward thinking that like!
    Anyway Doylems, godda gan, bizzies banging on the hotel door! Better turn the rave music doon and knock Cazza oot cos he’s spinning like plate!!
    Wooo hoo hoo hooo!
    Laters Gaters!
    Toon Toon!

    Troy Stavers
    Submitted on 2011/01/13 at 9:18 am

    Aye aye radgies!!
    Pure mental yesterday like! A only drove the helicopter for Big Mick and Wor Decka to the training groond didn’t a!!
    Pure mental Big Mick man!! He says to is, ” HOO TROY, FANCY A BASH OF MY CHOPPER?”
    A didn’t kna what he was on aboot at first cos he was filling an empty Stella can wi P!ss at the time. There’s nee toilets on them copters man.
    Anyway, he explained what he meant after I had purely howked him aal owa the shop.!
    Good thing is av done loads of training on the X Box flight simulator and it was nee different.
    Anyway a got done for speeding off the Bizzie chopper!! They reckon a didn’t stop for a cloud and summit aboot them having right of way!!
    Pure liberty takers them like! A reckon they were just tekkin the P!ss but al find oot when a gan to court.
    Apparently av got to ask for the sky sheriff when a turn up.
    Doylems! A never turn up ever anyway!
    Anyways Laters Gaters!!
    Toon Toon!

  16. Friggin’ Big Brother Google!

    Ever since I did a little research on POLISH international, Ludovic Obraniak (see above), and also bought a tub of Liberon antique wax POLISH online for my Georgian table restoration project, most of the websites I’ve been on have bombarded me with Google ads asking me if I want to date / marry POLISH girls :lol:

    It would be quite funny if it wasn’t so sinister and awful.

  17. Worky @15: There was another lad way before that as well, I think about 8 years ago on like “rivals” site or something. He was quite entertaining which is more than I can say for @15.

    Haven’t had a chance to read your thesis yet.

    Anyway, I think Chuck is right about Fox and ESPN re-sparking an interest in ex-pats by showing games live. I will go down to the English football pub on Monday and I will be lucky if there are 2 NUFC supporters. I can strike up a conversation with the Arsenal and Spurs fans but they don’t know much about NUFC. Get a lot more information on here and NUFC.com.

    As for Ed’s blog. It is hilarious on match day to watch the moodswings of the contributors. Apart from that, I get the Newsnow feed so I know most of the stuff before he posts it.

  18. I am looking forward to the Everton match preview to see the way people are thinking. It is great that we have 2 weeks to recover and we are just as knacked – just different players.

  19. Worky @16:

    You know about this stuff, is there any way to block the ads? Or opt out having them use your searches predictively?

    It will only get worse if you have an Android phone or get their tablet. They have a thing called “Google Now” where they look at all your searches, your calandar, your GPS locations and they make predictions of what you might want to do / might be interested in.

    It comes with the “jellybean” sofware update for phones.

    You can supposedly turn it off, which I have done, but I bet it is running in the background.

  22. GS says:
    September 14, 2012 at 1:35 am

    “Thanks Worky: I installed an adbloker. I will see how it works.”

    Some plugins might be better than others GS. The Firefox browser is usually best for that sort of thing in general.

  23. Has anyone been following the tweet wars between Steve Wraith and the NUFC’s Official Twitta over Wraith tweeting that players were becoming unsettled over club’s lack of ambition in the transfer window?

    11 Sep Newcastle United FC‏@NUFCOfficial

    Trying to undermine the club’s good work is a weak attempt to unsettle a positive, strong and spirited squad.

    11 Sep Newcastle United FC‏@NUFCOfficial

    Would have thought league success and a return to European football is worthy of positive comment.

    11 Sep Newcastle United FC‏@NUFCOfficial

    Here we are again, @stevewraith attempting to disrupt the club with unnecessary negative comment.

    Could be Llambias, he’s stupid and unprofessional enough to do something like that, just as he’s stupid and unprofessional enough to rant about club legends to fans in a bar without realising he could be being set up.

  25. Worky
    The answer to the above is, Yes!

    And hey, thanks for the Troy Stavers/ Bobby Shinton stuff, i have to say i found him entertaining.
    All we need now is a re-run of the “Red Bus” analogy by whatchimallim?
    Curious how many peope have been banned from the blog over time (excluding myself by Toonsy)
    Had some unusual contributers over a period of time.
    I recall “in the beginning there was ED.”
    Then this Blog, followed by Toonsy and the Irish Kid.
    Each with their particular groups, which have by this time become distinctivly different in both style and content.
    with Ed. turning out nothing but feelgood articles, which even the NUFC PR department could be proud of (perhaps he is the NUFC PR Dept.)
    Of course Toonsy still contributes here at times and has a ready made audience of sycophants, but have to say he wrote some interesting stuff at times and have no hard feelings to-wards him.
    Guess you have decided to soldier on with the blog, thought for a whie you were going to call it a day, good !

  26. chuck says:
    September 14, 2012 at 3:26 pm

    “Curious how many peope have been banned from the blog over time (excluding myself by Toonsy)”

    Chuck, only a handful of people have been permanently banned from this blog (under a dozen since the Summer of 2009), probably no more than the other blogs you mention. I have seen others on nufcblog.co.uk though, claiming they have been banned when they actually haven’t as some kind of childish bragging to their online mates, or because they posted abusive diatribes containing the “f” word, the “c” word and the “w” word and their comments were merely held for moderation and so on.

  27. Hey Worky them Bobby Shinton/Troy Starvers posts proper cracked me up there.i nearly choked on me cuppa wiv laughter..
    I never botherd wiv the sumo on ch4,think i only watched it once or twice..i did go to wembley to watch the 1st game ov american football there back in 86′ i think it was,Cowboys v Bears..i remember a certain William THE REFRIDGERATOR Perry,if my memory servce me im sure the big lad scored a 4th quater TD.Chicago had a cracking team back then,Jim McMahan at QB plus probs the best RB av ever seen in Sweetness..Walter Payton…

  28. jack72 says:
    September 14, 2012 at 5:23 pm

    “Hey Worky them Bobby Shinton/Troy Starvers posts proper cracked me up there.i nearly choked on me cuppa wiv laughter..”

    To be honest Jack, I think I’d like Ashley and Llambias far more if they were really like Troy’s “Big Mick” and “wor Dekka” :lol:

    You’re really into this American football lark! I remeber those names you mentioned vaguely, though I do remember that massive “Fridge” gadgie more clearly. He was a big bugger!

  29. sampdiago says:
    September 14, 2012 at 1:42 pm

    “No tim krull for three matches.Nightmare.”

    Sorry it happened again sampdiago. If you ever meet someone called Christian Jon Whitnall aka “Witters”, which is possible as he seems to live very close to you, please put his heed through a wall for me! :-)

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