WE WAS ROBBED!

Richard Lee - Another solid performance from the skipper, made two or three superb saves, never looked threatened or nervous, one miscued clearance a minor blip on his performance, could do nothing about the free-kick.

Karleigh Osborne - Continues to look like a defensive general, marshalled the big strikers well, had two wild efforts on goal, solid.

Miguel Llera - An impressive home debut, fantastic distribution, looked solid in the air, was occassionally caught for pace, found the A4 flyover with a free-kick, looks as if he has been playing here for two seasons.

Adam Thompson - A good game from the full back, unspectacular but effective, looks more mature than his age suggests, has thankfully extended his loan.

Blair Adams - Looked electric at left-back, attacked with pace and linked up well with the midfield, was industrious throughout, lacked match fitness, played alot like Ryan Dickson.

Sam Wood - Came on for the fatigued Adams, looked good going forward, still seems more comfortable in a midfield role.

Jonathan Douglas - A good game from the number 8, he looked hungry to get forward and had two good efforts, wokred well with the rest of the midfield.

Jake Reeves - Settled after a nervy start, is still looking light on the ball, his passing was good, he still needs games to get up to match fitness and sharpness.

Kevin O’Connor - Made a good, solid contribution when he came on.

Marcus Bean - A fantastic game from Beany, ran his socks into the ground, passed well, tackled well, managed to do some stepovers when moved out onto the right wing.

Myles Weston - A good stint from the hit-and-miss winger, was quick and direct, looked threatening on the ball, looked like the Weston of 2009/2010, his pass for the goal was world class.

Mike Grella - Was only on for a brief moment, but looked tricky and powerful. Would be nice to see him start.

Niall McGinn - Frustrating, worked tirelessly, looked dynamic and powerful when running at the defence, should have scored in the opening ten minutes, but hesitated 4 times in as many seconds.

Clayton Donaldson - His best game so far, held the ball up well, was fast and won a good number of headers, broke his Griffin Park duck with a well-taken finish when put through by Weston. Man of the match.

Richard Lee - A cool, calm and collected performance from the keeper, made two amazing saves, kicking was immaculate, only needed the post to deny Walsall on one occasion.

Karleigh Osborne - A good overall game, had a few ‘Karleigh Moments’ in the first half, including a nervous backpass, defended admirably in the second half.

Marcel Eger - Some solid defending from the big German, won most aerial duals and looked solid next to Osborne, occassional lapse in concentration, has adjusted well to the English game.

Adam Thompson - Positioning was sometimes questionable, was calm on the ball, distribution was good, looked troubled in the second half when up against pace.

Craig Woodman - The usual solid stint from the steady-eddie, rarely looked on the back foot, passed the ball well out of defence, unspectacular brilliance.

Marcus Bean - A great game from Beano, tackled well, ran himself into the ground, was forward thinking and dynamic throughout. Man of the match.

Kevin O’Connor - A good game from the Bees skipper, sometimes looked slow and behind the pace, passed the ball well, possibly more backwards than was needed.

Jonathan Douglas - A solid performance, passed well, tackled well, drove forward and took the game to Walsall, had a good opportunity in the first half.

Sam Wood - Worked tirelessly and never gave up on the ball, had one good shot fly just over, passing was off slightly, tired as the game went on.

Harry Forrester - Was tricky and nippy, made a nuisance of himself when on the ball, looked slightly lightweight off it, a talented young footballer for sure.

Myles Weston - Continues to blow hot and cold, crossed well for the goal, never seemed to impose himself on the game, was too fast for his own feet on occasions.

Micky Spillane - Looked hungry for first team football, came on and looked dangerous going forward.

Clayton Donaldson - Took his goal with a poacher’s instinct, did his best to hold the ball up, was strong and took on a few knocks, looked isolated at times, should have scored a hat trick.

Gary Alexander - Came on for the final minutes and did a job.

Richard Lee - Could do nothing about the goals, saw more of the ball than the strikers, made two or three important saves, did not look convincing playing the ball out of defence, wasted too much time on the goal kicks.

Kevin O’Connor - An uncharacteristic performance, lacked ambition in attack and solidarity in defence, was very vocal but did not lead by example, was beaten too easily by the pacy wingers.

Craig Woodman - Calm in defence, passing was alright, gave the ball away a few times and showed no adventure or desire to get forward, put into awkward situations by teammates.

Leon Legge - Solid in the air, looked indifferent with the ball at feet, distribution was poor, always seemed to be playing with an injury, limped off half way through the second half.

Marcel Eger - Came on for the injured Legge and did his job reasonably well, passing was questionable, should have won a penalty at the end of the match.

Karleigh Osborne - Tackling was reckless, was lucky to remain on the pitch, improved in the second half, heading was good, his performance personified that of the team, lacklustre and off form.

Sam Saunders - An indifferent game, did not seem confident when dribbling with the ball at feet, crossing was innaccurate, never lacked affort, but a bad day at the office.

Niall McGinn - Did not seem liek his usual self, did not try as hard, was on the periphery of the game, struggled to beat the Scouser’s full backs.

Jake Reeves - A poor performance from a player still learning his game, shrugged off the ball too easily, passing was unusually poor, taken off at half time.

Marcus Bean - The only slight bright spot on a poor performance, came on at half time, stamped a bit of authority on midfield, added a spark of creativity, was still off his best. Man of the Match.

Jonathan Douglas - A woeful performance, passing was wasteful, looked weak, was slow to the ball, waited until the 89th minute to add drive to his game.

Gary Alexander - A chocolate teapot would have been more useful, though he lacked any service, his attempt in the first half was superb, but the crossbar denied him.

Clayton Donaldson - Missed a great opportunity with a one on one, should have scored in the second half when 6 yards out, won a fair amount in the air, also lacked any service.

Mike Grella - Made a small contribution with a debut substitute appearance, won a few headers, never looked like threataning the Tranmere goal, MacDonald’s replacement is still to be found.

Fenerbache have been accused of match fixing and asked to be relegated. Samuel Eto’o is earning £300,000 a week. The 2022 World Cup is being held in a country where it is too hot to play football. England are ahead of Brazil in the world football rankings.

Michel Platini has said “the game has gone pear-shaped.” He has spoken ‘The Bleeding Obvious.’

Group A

A tough draw for Manchester City, but they are capable of battling Bayern and Villarreal for the top two spots in the group. Napoli are also in with a decent shout.

1. Bayern Munich
2. Manchester City
3. Napoli
4. Villarreal

Group B

Inter Milan should walk the group. Lille and CSKA are obvious choices for second, but Trabzonspor could be a potential slip-up.

1. Inter Milan
2. CSKA Moscow
3. LOSC Lille
4. Trabzonspor

Group C

Last year’s finalists United should have no trouble disposing of Basel and Otelul, but an away trip to Benfica could prove to be a banana skin.

1. Manchester United
2. Benfica
3. FC Basel
4. Otelul Galati

Group D

Mourinho’s Madrid are obvious favourites, but any of Lyon, Ajax and Zagreb could claim second place, with the latter beaing the least likely.

1. Real Madrid
2. Ajax
3. Olympique Lyonnais
4. Dinamo Zagreb

Group E

It’s an awkward draw for Chelsea. Genk is an accident waiting to happen, whilst Leverkusen and Valencia are tough fixtures away from home.

1. Chelsea
2. Valencia
3. Bayer Leverkusen
4. Genk

Group F

Arsenal couldn’t have picked a worse draw. All four teams could grab the top two places, but Dortmund and Marseille are stronger on paper than Olympiakos.

1. Marseille
2. Arsenal
3. Borussia Dortmund
4. Olympiakos

Group G

Newcomers APOEL Nicosia will struggle. FC Porto will be recovering from losing their manager and Shakhtar and Zenit will be threatening.

1. Shakhtar Donetsk
2. FC Porto
3. Zenit St. Petersburg
4. APOE: Nicosia

Group H

This group is a forgone conclusion, with Viktoria Plzen and BATE looking certain to go out. The Barcelona/Milan matches should be good to watch.

1. FC Barcelona
2. AC Milan
3. Viktoria Plzen
4. BATE Borisov
   

Richard Lee - Solid goalkeeping, led from the back with some calm distribution and lots of encouragement, made two critical saves in the second half, never looked uncomfortable

Kevin O’Connor - Led the team with a reliable confidence, did not venture forward too often, but allowed midfield to attack and was rarely ruffled, passing was consistant

Leon Legge - Commanding as usual in the air and made some crucial tackles, might have been sent off in the first half, always a threat from set plays, scored a neat header

Karleigh Osborne - Had a nervy moment in the first half, was solid throughout, made many good defensive headers and clearances, including one key tackle in the second half

Craig Woodman - Another good game, was up and down the left wing like a train, crossed well, never looked out of position

Sam Saunders - Was poor in the first half, slipped a lot and gave away possession, switched to orange boots in the second half, scored two stunning free-kicks, set up Leon Legge’s goal. Man of the Match.

Myles Weston - Came on and looked dangerous when cutting in off the right, will have to fight to take McGinn and Sammy out of the side

Jake Reeves - Looked hit and miss, fluffed two chances to score, distribution was near perfect, still looks like he has been playing for 5 years

Marcus Bean - An impressive cameo, added industry and bite to the Bees midfield, took his goal with lovely control 

Jonathan Douglas - Not his best game, settled more in the second half, was a calming influence in the last 30 minutes, has done enough to keep his place

Niall McGinn - A constant threat, quick as lightning, took his goal with exceptional quality, playing way below his level, ripped the Orient left back to shreds

Clayton Donaldson - Worked hard, did not look as threatening as usual, held the ball up well, laid the ball perfectly for Marcus Bean

Gary Alexander - A fantastic effort, never gave up on a ball, defended from the front and made a real nuisance of himself, deserved a goal, got no service in the first half

Charlie MacDonald - Worked hard as usual in his brief appearance, should have scored when through on goal with only the keeper to beat

Hawkeye Uncut examines the qualities of more of the most well paid sportsmen in the UK.

Name: Lee Bowyer

Age: 10

Position: Midfielder/Rolling around on the floor crying

Special Skills:

• Fighting with teammates
• Whinging about how terrible his teammates are
• Diving
• Recklessly flying into challenges with no regard for his opponent
• Complaining to the ref

Name: Emmanuel Adebayor

Age: 9

Position: Striker/On the bench

Special Skills:

• Stamping on former teammates
• Breaking loyalty claims
• Mocking Arsenal fans
• Training ground brawls
• Falling out wuth teammates and managers

Name: El Hadji Diouf

Age: Unknown, thought to be below 2 years old

Position: Striker/Winger/In court hearings

Special Skills:

• Spitting at fans
• Spitting at players
• Diving
• Pointing the finger at the referee
• Pitchside fights