The Pieman's Blog, Friday, 31 October

Hello everyone - especially Harry "Houdini" Redknapp! Harry has just completed 25 years as a football manager and at 61 Harry has come a long way from his first match as Bournemouth boss when his side got beaten 9-0 against Lincoln. After winning the FA Cup for Portsmouth and restoring the former glory days to Fratton Park our Harry has taken over as Spurs manager. You must be Rip Van Winkle if you didn't know that! (apart from our kitman Michael G who is the original Rip Van!). Harry has come in and rescued Spurs with a home win over Bolton on his first day and an incredible pie-splitting 4-4 draw at the Arsenal who were doing their own version of Rip Van Winkle in the last few minutes!

Redknapp is a man manager, motivator and very knowledgeable about football. A real football man. A bit like myself really! The Spurs play at home to the Premier League leaders Liverpool who kept their unbeaten run going by taking away Chelsea's at Stamford Bridge on Sunday and then beating Harry's old club Portsmouth at home on Wednesday. This is the Pieman's PIE-DICTION: a shock win for Spurs. You can get 11-5 for that at the bookies...get on just like the Pieman! It’s live on Setanta at 5.30 p.m. on Saturday evening... Pukka Pie time!

Former Arsenal and England legend and captain Tony Adams has stepped up from being Redknapp's number to being the new manager of Portsmouth who are currently seventh in the Premier League How will he do? Ok, but he is no Harry Redknapp.

It is wrong to drag up his days at Wycombe. Different times, different problems and lack of resources. I just think they should have given Tone until Christmas to see how he goes and what players he will lose and also sign in the January transfer window. Number two's very rarely make great number one’s. The interviews and conferences may be fun and weird. In September 2006 Adams said, "I've helped a few people at Wycombe etc. I've done a little bit down at Pompey. Thanks very much. If nobody wants me - that's great. I'll go back to watching my chickens."...a bit like Eric Cantana!..................

Talking of new managers, Argentina legend Diego Maradona has been put in charge of the national football team. This is the player who cheated England in the 1986 World Cup by using his hand to score when jumping against Peter Shilton in the England goal. He too has some weird quotes. About the hand - Oh God he says: "At the time I called it the hand of God. ( Bollocks - was it the hand of God, it was the hand of Diego). It felt a bit like pick-pocketing the English".(hardly fair play, dirty Diego, no pies for you!)

John Carew has been fined £52,000 by Aston Villa after the striker was reported to have been spotted in a lap dancing club after curfew hours the night before a match. It would have been cheaper to have bunged the lap dancers a few quid and dashed home early! There is no doubt that John was drinking soft drinks but the Norwegian, now known as the Rocket Man by his team-mates, was stretching it when he says that he was not in the club but was in a bar that shares the same entrance! Well in the interests of this blog (purely for research you understand) I have taken a gander at the "Rocket Club" and the bar is part of the club and there were very scantily dressed ladies at the bar. It was not that hot so I assume they were lap dancers (I'm not just a pretty face!). Score: Pie Girls 10 - Rocket Club lap dancers 6 (after extra time!)...........

Have you heard the one about the goalkeeper who thought the team coach was in his safe hands but he dropped it? It crashed and cost him £20,000. It’s been revealed that Blackburn goalie Jason Brown, who earns £7500 a week as the reserve goalie has been handed the repair bill after he demolished a wall trying to drive a top range coach at Rovers pre-season German training camp. Because he doesn’t have a PCV licence required there is no insurance cover. Footballers will be boys! Do you remember Paul Gascoigne crashing Middlesbrough's Team bus ten years ago?

I hope you are enjoying the radio show. It’s great having you on board. Remember football is the game, fair play mate is the name.

Yours in pie…
The Pieman

The Pieman's Blog for Saturday, 25 October

The Tottenham Hotspur season goes from bad to worse. If they lose at home to Bolton on Sunday it will mean 9 Premier League matches without a win. Two points from two draws –incredible - including one at Chelsea - is their worst ever start. Now the jokes are starting to fly around like "What do a toothpick and Tottenham have in common? They both have two points!"

What is to be done? I think get a strong new coach who will make the current players fight for their places. Fabio Capello has restored England's results and discipline. It’s a key factor. Juande Ramos needs some new help with him - not the sack. A new face to gee up the players. Fair play to the club for not panicking - yet! Of course, they should not have sacked Martin Jol whose present club Hamburg currently top the German League. Spurs sacked Jol a year ago. In a sense, it serves them right! Changing the manager time after time very rarely works. The successful clubs are the patient ones. Changing the manager can be like an expensive divorce.You has to change the players, the staff, scouts and so on.

Meanwhile the fixture of the weekend is at Stamford Bridge on Sky Sports on Sunday lunchtime (1.30pm kick-off). Both teams are unbeaten in the Premier League and both joint top with 20 points. Chelsea have a better goal difference – plus 16 to Liverpool's plus 7. Both have injuries to key players. The difference here is that Chelsea have a bigger squad. They were without 7 regular first team stars last weekend and won 5:0 at Middlesbrough.
Liverpool are without their best player, striker Fernando Torres, and maybe another potential scorer in Robbie Keane. Chelsea to win.

Another top game will be the Sky Sports lunchtime match on Saturday: Sunderland v Newcastle. Much more than just a local derby. Newcastle looking for their first win under caretaker manager Joe Kinnear and maybe Joey Barton plays after his jail sentence and then six match suspension for another assault. Barton blames alcohol for his problems and says he gave it up in January. He says he knows he is in the last chance saloon. He should be, but you never know with football clubs... I am sure it’s Joey's last chance at Newcastle.

There are always lotsof talking points and it’s YOUR views I want. That's why Pieman Radio was formed to fill in all the gaps around the phone-ins on TV and Radio.

My message is clear; a bit of fun and fair play mate.

I'll finish this blog with some more Spurs jokes doing the rounds........
"A man was found floating down the Thames wearing a wig, full make up, suspenders and a Spurs shirt. Before informing the next of kin the police removed the Spurs shirt to save the family embarrassment."
"I met this really kinky girl last night. ‘Humiliate me’, she said. So I bought her a Spurs shirt."....
It’s only a bit of fun, folks. I hope the Spurs climb the table soon. Fair play, mate!

Hello fellow football fans and welcome to my first blog and my first broadcast on Pieman Radio!

The world's greatest game - football, of course... our version, not that sissy stuff from the USA! The game throws up so many talking points and the Pieman's ambition has always been to share them with you....chew the Pies around if you like to use Pieman speak!

I have always been interested in what the fans think and now, thanks to my little touch and the jackpot in Las Vegas - some call it lost wages! - I am able to have my own platform to share with you, hopefully twice a week. I will tell you about all my favourite things including my favourite PIES.......... they are Pukka Pies. Soon we will able to share one of two. I've also got my own team of Pie Girls to help me.

They are the new staff at Pieman radio.

They will also run the Store with Pieman T-shirts and so on......

Did you see that piece on me on the sports pages of my favourite Sunday, the PEOPLE, in the Sport Confidential. I was so chuffed I might even sponsor the column. Anyway football fans, right now I need YOUR HELP... without your emails and texts I have no show so please get busy now. I will mention you all, read your important views and add the Pieman's thoughts.

What a week to kick off with. The World Cup Qualifiers. What's your country? What did you think of the matches played and those about to be played? I'm English so I am rooting for my ENGLANDERS but I always like to see the UK teams do well and the Irish as long as they are not playing England.....what did you make of the Lampard-Gerrard partnership and Englanders display against Kazakhstan at Wembley and Wednesday's game in Belarus? Kazakhstan's German coach stopped his team swopping shirts with the England players (meanie) but he is right to tell his players that there is more to Kazakhstan than a man with a moustache and a little white flag. (Borat, got it?)

Charlton are the latest target for foreign investors? Good or bad? Let me know? 9 of the 20 Premier League clubs have foreign owners. What do you think? Hey look at the time! It's pie time for me so you please get emailing and texting from around the world right now. I am waiting...... and if you’re going to send me one – fair play to you, mate!

THE PIEMAN'S BLOG

Hello Mates,

This is my first blog ever !

You will be able to hear my shows at http://www.piemanradio.com/ from 15th October 2008.

Thanks for looking.

Cheers

The Pieman