god i'm so glad fergie has replaced tevez with berbatov.

You'd think that Fergie could see that their central defenders are weak (especially with Mr. Frying Pan Head starting), that he'd play Rooney and Tevez up front to steam-roller them into submission.

Instead, we see Berbatov trying his best to hold the ball up, surrounded by players and Rooney on the left.

Why is Kolo Toure a substitute?

injuries and poor form, and an inexplicable regard for the useless silvestre.

ole gunnar solskjaer has to take rooney to one side and get him to do all the practice at finishing that he did.

something about him and gallas running into each other all the time.

fergie lauded the quality of the football but the game i saw was strewn with defensive errors and awful finishing. neither side will be winning any league titles this season.

Since I'm in a pedantic mood, can I ask in what sense could this match be possibly described as a "derby"?

Bryantop wrote:

QUOTE:
Why is Kolo Toure a substitute?

To even things up a bit?

Great photo from the BBC's site:

The photographer didn't catch Silvestre's face at an unfortunate moment. He looks like that all the time.

QUOTE:
Since I'm in a pedantic mood, can I ask in what sense could this match be possibly described as a "derby"?

I didn't think it was necessary to flag the intentionally loose application of the word derby in reference to today's match between two BRCs with qualifers. If it eases your pedantic angst, however, I'll gladly change the thread title to incorporate quotation marks.

Where are the emoticons these days?

"Where are the emoticons these days?"

Yes, I was wondering that - I loved their early stuff.

did arsenal have a poppy on their shirts?

Looks like it.

That pic reminds me of the story about Nasri before he became a Muslim.

Nasri at the time was living in this small French village, and had just returned from a holiday, believed to have been in the neighbouring village, when he went to see his barber.

"So, Nasri," asked the barber, "where did you go on holiday?"

"To Rome," the monosyllabic Nasri replied.

To the derisive giggling of the assembled clients, the barber continued needling: "Oh yes? What do you do there?"

"St Peter's Square," Nasri tersely replied.

As the giggling grows louder, the barber asks: "And did you meet the pope there."

The crowd almost collective collpases with laughter as Nasri replies: "Yes."

Snorting through his nose, the barber asks: "And what did the pope say to you?"

Nasri replies: "He said: 'Who the fuck gave you that haircut?'"

True story.