Posted By Rob Parker on July 26, 2010

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It seems that referees are back in the firing line after the World Cup final in which Rotherham-born Howard Webb issued 14 yellow cards during the battle between Spain and the Netherlands. Many watching the dirty tactics of the Dutch must have been amazed that no players were sent off in the first half of a final that will go down as one of the most ugly and brutal ever.

Probably the most outrageous example of an assault that should have merited a sending off was the horrific kung-fu style assault on Xabi Alonso by Nigel de Jong, but there were other shameful examples of savage challenges perpetrated by the likes of Mark Van Bommel and Wesley Sneijder that deserved red cards too. Yet all the Yorkshire ex-cop did was show yellow card after yellow card. (more…)

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Tags: fifa, football betting, franz beckenbauer, howard webb

Posted By Rob Parker on July 19, 2010

OTP is shutting down for a couple of weeks (if £100,000-a-week players need a rest we reckon we deserve one too). We’ll have some exciting things in the pipeline when we return. In the meantime, why not visit a couple of sponsors (we’ll call it holiday pay!).

1. Recuperated players
Watching tired, below par footballers embarrass themselves in South Africa wasn’t always as entertaining as we would have liked. Hopefully a nice little break for football’s elite will see them back to their best for the new season. (more…)

Category: Lists | 1 Comment »
Tags: blackpool, Champions League, ian holloway, jose mourinho, Liverpool, Newcastle, real madrid, roy hodgson, Tottenham

Posted By David Stewart on July 18, 2010

Following the World Cup, OTP takes a look at the possible talent that could be moving to the Premier League this summer after impressing on the world’s biggest stage.

Diego Forlan

1. Diego Forlan
Impressive throughout the tournament, the ex-Manchester United flop has lived up to his potential with Atletico Madrid in Spain. After receiving the player of the tournament award for four goals in six games, the Uruguayan has gained a lot of admirers and would cost around £20million.
Would like to meet: Despite saying he doesn’t want a Prem return, a call from Chelsea could be tempting. He would also be very welcome at Spurs if ‘Arry could talk him into it. (more…)

Category: Conclusions, Lists, Premier League, Transfer Talk, world cup | 5 Comments »
Tags: anthony annan, asamoah gyan, diego forlan, Eljero Elia, fabio coentrao, keisuke honda, landon donovan, luis suarez, Mesut Özil, thomas mueller, top 10 world cup players, world cup

Posted By Rob Parker on July 18, 2010

Chelsea midfielder smacks young Crystal Palace fan in the face

Given that he hasn’t played for seven months, you could forgive Michael Essien if his shooting was a little wayward. Whether the boy who felt the brunt of his off-target effort in the warm-up before a friendly against Crystal Palace feels the same way is doubtful.

The Ghanaian had got his accuracy back by the time he scored the winning goal in the match.

Spotted on 101GG

Category: Chelsea | 10 Comments »
Tags: Chelsea, crystal palace, football funny, football video, michael essien, michael essien crystal palace, michael essien makes boy cry

Posted By Rob Parker on July 18, 2010

Market closed amid rumours of Anfield move

Bookmakers Paddy Power have stopped taking betting on Joe Cole’s next club following a flood of bets on the ex-Chelsea player moving to Liverpool.

Liverpool had been available at odds of 11/2 to be Cole’s next club on Saturday morning but was backed into just 7/4 after punters piled large amounts on him joining the Reds. Betting was suspended when slashing of odds failed to stem the tide of bets.

Tottenham had been the bookies’ favourite since betting opened, but the Liverpool plunge was the first significant move in the market.

Paddy Power said: “We’ve raised the white flag and it looks like good news for Liverpool fans. It was a very quiet market that suddenly sprang to life and scores of bets were placed one after the other at all odds between 11/2 and 7/4. Money usually talks in markets like this and it’s shouting louder than a vuvuzela!”

Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson admitted yesterday that he had spoken to Cole.

He said: “As far as I know, Joe Cole is still a player looking for a club. I know we’ve been connected with him, and it’s good to know we’re connected with players of that quality, but I don’t have anything to report on the subject.

“I haven’t had any discussions with him, but I had a brief chat a while back.”

He added that any further discussions with Cole would be the responsibility of Christian Purslow.

Category: Chelsea, Liverpool, Transfer Talk | 1 Comment »
Tags: football, joe cole, joe cole liverpool, joe cole paddy power, joe cole transfer, Liverpool, paddy power, soccer

Posted By David Stewart on July 16, 2010

The summer transfer window’s most sought after star

After becoming a hero for correctly predicting eight results at the World Cup, Germany’s octopus oracle Paul is set to be signed up by Madrid Zoo.

This move comes on the back of correctly predicting Spain would beat Holland in last Sunday’s final and defeat Germany in the semi-final. (more…)

Category: Transfer Talk, world cup | No Comments »
Tags: football funny, madrid zoo, oberhausen, paul the octopus, paul the octopus bid, world cup

Posted By Rob Parker on July 16, 2010

Ex-ref reaches surprising conclusion

We all know referees are always eager to take the blame as much as possible, which is why we were shocked that Graham Poll passed the buck when asked if his infamous third bookable offence sending-off of Croatia’s Josip Simunic was worse than Mauricio Espinosa’s decision to disallow Frank Lampard’s goal against Germany.

Category: Adverts and Commercial, world cup | 2 Comments »
Tags: England, frank lampard goal, Germany, germany world cup, graham poll, graham poll three yellow, world cup