August 2011 ~ James & Caroline had a baby! ~ we may never hear from him again - (quiet sigh of relief!)

August 2010 ~  James Culligan has opinions about most things,  but he's quit putting them on here !

A Message from Soccer First, Dublin Ohio

To all Soccer First league coaches/participants,

Due to recent events during matches played at Soccer First, we are
instituting a Zero Tolerance Policy on Referee Abuse.From this point on,
any player or coach who verbally abuses a referee for any reason before,
during or after a match is subject to a suspension of one or more games,
depending on the severity of the infraction. This would include dissent
which is defined as behavior that challenges the authority of the referee.
We cannot continue to allow participants to mistreat our referees for any
reason.

This policy is not intended to imply that referees are always right
and that coaches and/or players are always wrong, but rather is intended to
provide a safe, fair and fun environment for everyone participating at
Soccer First. There are appropriate avenues for coaches or spectators to
share concerns about the quality of officiating. Any time you have a
concern about a referee, please come to the front desk and fill out a
customer comment form. We always welcome constructive comments regarding
our officials.

Again, I would like to reiterate that the purpose of this policy is
to make clear that verbal abuse of referees is unacceptable and to adopt a
policy for dealing with these situations. Please make sure that each and
every player on your team is aware of this new policy as it is effective
immediately.

Thank you for your cooperation!

Soccer First

Soccer First
614-793-0101
6490 Dublin Park Dr.
Dublin, OH 43016
www.soccerfirst.org

Feb 8th, 2010 - James is in Korea

Feb 1st 2010 - James still has his pen stuck in his pus.sy, nothing from him recently!

Dec 2009  - James says he's so riled up about the Irish losing to France and exiting the World Cup he's going to write something. - ooooh! - can hardly wait

2009 - > James got married (commiserations to Caroline) and went from being _ _ nt struck to pussy whipped in about half a second...we rarely see him at games or down the pubs... usually takes a year or two for boys to wriggle out some freedom, but we think Culligan is doomed!

Monday, February 25, 2008 

Instead of reliving yesterday’s Man U v Newcastle massacre and singing the praises of our United side–all of whom performed admirably yesterday–I’m going to use this time to do something a different. 

Arsenal striker Eduardo had his leg broken by Birmingham City defender Martin Taylor. Here’s what Arseblog had to say about it:

That is the kind of challenge we should not accept. Not as fans. As administrators. As managers, players, pundits or anything else. It was absolutely deplorable and it’s been waiting to happen for years now.

Do I think Martin Taylor set out to break Eduardo’s leg? No. I think it’d be a very sick individual that did that. Do I think Martin Taylor decided to get ’stuck in’ to Eduardo, ‘just to show him he’s around’? Yes, I do. I think he wanted to get in a heavy challenge early in the game and perhaps put the Crozilian off his game. 99.9% of the time these ‘tackles’ don’t end up with serious injury but this time Taylor is that .01%.

Eduardo’s foot was planted on the floor, Taylor came in a foot over the ball - not 2 inches, not 6 inches, at least a foot - and he has a put at risk the career of a fellow professional. It was a horrific challenge. Sorry, but anyone who has played football knows from simply looking at that picture that the tackle was designed to hurt. You don’t leave the ground like that, you don’t lead with your studs like that if you’re not trying to hurt the opponent. To say it was ‘mistimed’ is simply trying to make excuses. I’m sure Taylor feels bad but so he should. He should feel like a fucking piece of shit because what he did was as cowardly and appalling a tackle as I’ve seen in a long time. Here’s the slow-mo video of it, if you stomach it. But watch it and then try and tell me that Taylor didn’t set out to ‘do’ Eduardo. It was nothing to do with Eduardo being too quick, it was deliberate and downright dangerous.

Immediately afterwards Arsene Wenger said Taylor should never play football again. Later he, quite rightly, retracted that saying he had been speaking in the heat of the moment but I can understand where he’s coming from. It’s rare, really, really rare, for a player to suffer serious injury at the hands of another pro. We’ve seen players snap cruciates and smack heads and things but you know the last two really bad tackles I can remember that have put players out for a long time have both been on Arsenal players. Dan Smith of Sunderland badly injured Abou Diaby and now Martin Taylor has ended Eduardo’s season and quite possibly his career.

And here’s the worst thing for me - the maximum ban Martin Taylor can serve is three games. It’s nonsense. I was critical of Eboue’s tackle last week but the fact that Eboue and Taylor get the same ban is ludicrous. You might have seen Jeremie Aliadiere red carded yesterday for a small slap. How is it fair that Aliadiere will get three games for not hurting an opponent at all yet Taylor, who may have broken Eduardo’s leg beyond repair, gets the same ban?

I’ve said this before but there must be a sliding scale for red cards given for violent conduct. A review panel should be able to look at what Martin Taylor did and decide that his ban should last 5 games or 10 games or 20 games. Whether the ref saw it or dealt with it at the time is irrelevant. The ref has seconds to make a decision, replays let us see if there was intent or if it was accidental. They let us see the real damage.

You cannot deal with all ‘violent conduct’ incidents the same way. Some are more violent than other and deserve bigger punishment. There has to be a way to punish Martin Taylor more than you punish Jeremie Aliadiere. It’s just the most stupid thing I can think of that this is not possible. How can you give a three game ban to somebody for a little slap and the same to somebody who breaks somebody’s leg? It’s like giving shoplifters the same jail time as rapists.

It was always going to take a horrific injury to somebody before this issue came to the fore. As long as I’ve been writing Arseblog I’ve been going on about it, and that’s coming up on 6 years now. Sadly it’s our player who has suffered but if there’s any positive to be taken from it it’ll be that some kind of change in the laws of the game will be precipitated. That those who perpetrate real acts of violence on fellow players are punished accordingly and not merely give a three game slap on the wrist then sent on their way.

To Eduardo and his family, all the very best. I’m sure he knows that every Arsenal fan, and I’m sure most football fans across England, will be wishing him a successful and speedy recovery. It doesn’t hurt to say it out loud though.

Here, here. I feel horrible for the lad and wish him the best in his recovery. I don’t think there is anything I could say that Arseblogger hasn’t already stated well. Tackles like the one on Eduardo demand the stiffest of penalties. They should be reviewed on a case-by-case basis for malice and recklessness and punished accordingly. While it may have been an Arsenal player who suffered this time, it doesn’t take much for me to imagine one of our players suffering the same fate. Bad teams have little recourse against sides like ours and Arsenal’s. In order to compensate for the disparities in talent between the sides they are often instructed to dig in against us and set the tone early. While this is smart tactically, there is a fine line between good, physical play and what we saw with Martin Taylor. Most of the time the line is not crossed and when it is the victim is usually able to avoid Eduardo’s fate. But when the line is crossed the full weight of the law must come down on those who commit such rash, careless tackles, as such tackles have no place on the pitch.

While we may pulled back within three points yesterday, I didn’t want us to achieve it this way. Arsenal’s men were clearly affected psychologically and I, personally, would have preferred that Arsenal won yesterday so as to not encourage Taylor’s actions. I would simply like to offer my sympathies to Eduardo and the Arsenal community, as I know I would expect the same if one of our guys had his career imperiled in the same manner. Here’s hoping the FA makes the necessary changes to protect its players and discourage such viciousness on the pitch.

Friday, January 11, 2008

BIG SAM GOT A RAW DEAL!!!!

It's safe to say that things on the coaching front have gotten a little out of control.After a mere eight months in charge at Newcastle, Sam Allardyce was run out of St. James' Park for failing to produce a Premiership title-winning team on the stroke of mid-season.

Times have certainly changed from the days when a manager was brought in with a long-term plan and given the time and resources necessary to see it to fruition. In today's football world, win every game or go home.

Before his brief stint with the Magpies, Allardyce had an amazing record with Bolton during his tenure at the Reebok — it's a testament to his abilities when you see how far the Trotters have slid down this season under Gary Megson.

In 1999 he took over a Divsion One Bolton side near the bottom of the table and barely missed out on promotion in his first year. A year later he achieved top-flight status with Wanderers and after some tough seasons of acclimating in the Premiership and avoiding the drop with a 'small market' team, he took them to their first-ever European date in 2005 by qualifying for the UEFA Cup.

During Allardyce's final three or four seasons with Bolton, the big teams dreaded facing the squad he had assembled over time. With a solid core of players like Kevin Nolan, Ivan Campo, Stelios Giannakopoulos and Gary Speed along with a host of specialized talents like Nicolas Anelka and El-Hadji Diouf, Trotters fans took great pleasure in causing the Arsenals and Chelseas of the world great headaches.

His unyielding style fit in well with a group of players who had something to prove and didn't feel like they were owed something because they played for a supposed big club like Newcastle.

But the Toon Army just can't get over the fact that they're not a big club. The Geordies are great fans — there's no question about that. But they're completely unrealistic about what their team really is.

Their last piece of significant silverware? The 1955 FA Cup.

I'm sure those fans, who were famously shown taunting Allardyce on the sidelines recently on television, were around for that glory.

The bottom line is that you can't make a gourmet meal with a microwave oven.

Even Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson didn't win a thing for three years after taking over at Old Trafford in 1986. Times were obviously different back then.

But what do I know? I'm sure the Newcastle brass have just the right guy in mind who can now magically move them from the middle of the table to the summit within a few weeks.

There has to be someone out there who knows just what to say to get Mark Viduka playing like he did back at Elland Road, Alan Smith back to the form he was in before he broke his leg and Michael Owen healthy enough to play 90 minutes week in and week out.

No problem at all. Good luck with that.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant

Associate Press

Wed Dec 19, 11:29 AM PST

Another Spears baby is reportedly on the way -- and it's not Britney's.

Jamie Lynn Spears, the 16-year-old "Zoey 101" star and sister of Britney, told OK! magazine that she's pregnant and that the father is her secret ex-boyfriend, Michael Vick who is serving a 23 month jail sentence on federal charges.

"The prison sex was exciting and I heard the federal pen has a cool nursery and awesome fatherhood classes,” she said.  Vick responded through his attorney "I have 8 shorties now and only 2 are half white so it is dope that I have another shot a raising my kidz after I done serving my sentence.”

Initial reports cited possible fathers as soccer star David Beckham, Anna Nicole Smith Attorney - Howard K Stern, and an unknown 60 year old male named Terry Quested. “It is true I had brief flings with them all,” Spears said. When asked to elaborate on each she replied, “David was really cute….. then I kind of got turned off after the whole LA Galaxy disaster. His run of form lately was really bad and the team really sucks. Looking back I was just young and got caught up in the fun of the hanging out with Tom-Kat and the baby Sari thing.  As it goes for Howard K Stern, I never really liked him. I was naive and got  into all his drugs. As for Terry, he was sweet. I met him at a Hanna Montana concert that he brought his son to see; I met him back stage. He took me to Fado’s and got me really drunk on Stella. After that, I don’t want to kiss and tell but let’s just say I was no longer a girl and not quite a woman. If it wasn’t for his age, we could have been something more than a one night stand.”

What message does she want to send to other teens about premarital sex? "I definitely don't think it's something you should do; it's better to wait," she told the magazine. "But I don’t see it being a problem for me though.... Britney has promised to help me raise the child; She has more time now ‘cuz  her kids were taken away by the court and K-Fed is raising them.”

Monday, December 10, 2007

Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison Monday for his role in a dogfighting conspiracy that involved gambling and killing pit bulls. Vick pleaded guilty in August, admitting he bankrolled the "Bad Newz Kennels" dogfighting operation and helped kill six to eight dogs. He has been held at a jail in Warsaw, Va., since he voluntarily began serving his sentence. Here is a video link of one of "Bad Newz Kennels" champion fighting dogs.

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=5393130

For Terry and anyone else who asked me why I gave a shit about college soccer. The following is a quote which describes why I sat through 35 degree rain for 2 consecutive weeks.

Years have gone by and I've finally learned to accept myself for who I am: a begger of good football. I go about the world, hand outstretched, and in the stadiums I plead: "A pretty move for the love of God."  And when good football happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don't give a damn which team or country performs it.

                                                         - Eduardo Galeano

Monday, November 26, 2007

OK. Now that I am back, let’s get it straight. I no longer drive a van, I have no bar tabs open and fully paid my dues. Once again, Terry is expanding on the truth a bit.

For all you England Fans: There is much to be thankful for these Holidays....... England -1 / Spain 0. (In Women's World Cup qualifying) I'll admit. I cannot decide which is worse: listening to one Quested's stories how he played with George Best, was in the British Special Forces, killed a great white shark in the South Pacific, jumped out of World War I Spitfire without a parachute ........or .......watching women try to play football.  

THIS JUST IN........ Steve McClaren is an idiot.

Choose an imbecile, Choose Steve McClaren.

Choose to start Shawn Wright Phillips and watch him dribble until he losses it or crosses it to the side netting. Choose not to start Agbonglahor or Ashley Young who are fast & young and on form  goal scorers. Choose to play forwards who don't even start for their Club. Choose to play Stevie G & fat Frank at the same time even though they bump into each other on the pitch and play the same role. Choose to start 4 defenders who never have played a match together. Choose to stay with dreadful Paul Robinson then pull him for the last game placing the new keeper in a precarious situation ( i.e. Hope Solo). Choose to sack Posh Beckham then fly to America, suck his slong and beg him to come back to save England. Choose to fail to qualify for Euro 2008 even though the game was invented on your home soil, Choose to have no balls.

 Choose a Clown, Choose Steve McClaren

OK here is where I get serious. Mark my words. ENGLAND WILL NOT EVEN QUALIFY FOR THE NEXT WORLD CUP!!!!!!