It's Official...Tim Howard joins Man U.

[daedalus]

Too many players? Did Chelsea sign someone I don't know about? The only winger we have who has any argument for playing ahead of Robben is Duff, and considering Duff's fragility and Ranieri's willingness to play wingers on their weaker flank I would say that Duff will actually be less of an impediment to Robben than Ryan Giggs would have been at Man U.I agree with you that, of the Chelsea's various players, Duff, Gronkjaer and now Robben are probably the only natural wide players. I was more referring to their depth in the midfield. In the midfield overall, they still have Cole, Veron (though he's out at the moment), Lampard, Parker, Makelele, Duff, Gronkjaer, Geremi. That doesn't even count the guy they sent out on loan as soon as they bought him or Petit and Stanic since I don't know their standing on the team. Adding Robben and whoever else they decide they want in July just seems to make it tougher for him to get consistent playing time. I know Raneiri usually tinker with his lineup and will play various players in various places so I guess you never know.

[Katon]

The only person in the squad who plays any of Robben's positions well enough to keep him out of the team is Duff. I expect to see Robben either out on the flank or at the head of a midfield diamond most of the time, and Duff is the only other player who can fill those roles. I mean, Jesper Gronkjaer - who can't play in the diamond formation, can't cross a ball to save his life, and is one of the most inconsistent players in the team - has managed twenty starts and a similar number of substitute appearances already this season as Duff's backup. Robben, who is a better player and can fill in for Duff in any of his roles, will get plenty of games.

[daedalus]

I agree that Robben definitely has enough quality to start over most. I'm just afraid of seeing him stuck in a number crunch. As far as I understand the positionings and the players, I thought Cole and Veron are both capable players at the head of the midfield diamond. If I'm not mistaken, I think I've seen Cole outside in Duff's usual slot now and again. (But then again, I did see Cole came into a game to fill in at the wingback slot as well so he seems to get bounced around a lot.) Since Geremi doesn't seem as comfortable outside, I'm surprised Ranieri doesn't play Cole in the right wing slot more often.

By the way, how do you REALLY feel about Gronkjaer? :D

[Calis]

I've been hearing a lot lately about how Cole wants out, any truth to that you think Katon? Seems to be unhappy about his lack of playing, but I have no idea really.

Haven't got a chance to see them play this year, but was surprised by hearing all this. I thought Cole was one of the hot young prospects, is he not doing so hot this year?

[Calis]

Dola.

Bah! Just had to come here and vent. Celtic just drew Barcelona in the next round of the UEFA Cup.

Not our lucky day.

[MIJB#19]

Dola.

Bah! Just had to come here and vent. Celtic just drew Barcelona in the next round of the UEFA Cup.

Not our lucky day.Got to beat them all to win it all!

[MIJB#19]

Hmm, Gronkjaer never addapted to the level of Chelsea?
That defends my little concern over Robben's adeptability to the higher level, Gronkjaer was not bad at Ajax (though not as good as Robben) and of course played in a different system (Ajax = Dutch school; PSV = 4-4-2).
Though Gronkjaer is not a left legged left winger, right?

[Katon]

I don't dislike Gronkjaer as much as those comments would indicate. He's the most frustrating player on the team, but considering how much he had to do with our win in last year's last-day showdown against Liverpool, it's hard to really hate the guy. Gronkjaer is a right-footed left winger. His main problems, as far as I can tell, are a complete inability to cross (nine times out of ten his final ball winds up in the crowd) and being a confidence player (misses a few crosses, gets depressed, and suddenly can't even control the ball). When he's crossing the ball well and feeling confident, he's actually quite a good player. It's just that that happens maybe half a dozen times per season.

To answer various Joe Cole comments: Cole's biggest difficulty is that Frank Lampard is busy being one of the best midfielders in the league in Cole's preferred slot and so he hasn't had a sustained run of games at his best position, and of course he isn't good enough away from his best position to earn regular play. Robben will cut Cole's opportunities on the flanks, but that isn't his favorite position anyway and he wasn't doing much with those opportunities

[Sharpieman]

Dola.

Bah! Just had to come here and vent. Celtic just drew Barcelona in the next round of the UEFA Cup.

Not our lucky day.

Yea I noticed that too, but you never know what could happen.

[daedalus]

Katon . . . Speaking of Cole being blocked by Lampard, how will Parker fare at Chelsea? Doesn't he play the same position as Lampard and Cole?

[MIJB#19]

I don't dislike Gronkjaer as much as those comments would indicate. He's the most frustrating player on the team, but considering how much he had to do with our win in last year's last-day showdown against Liverpool, it's hard to really hate the guy. Gronkjaer is a right-footed left winger. His main problems, as far as I can tell, are a complete inability to cross (nine times out of ten his final ball winds up in the crowd) and being a confidence player (misses a few crosses, gets depressed, and suddenly can't even control the ball). When he's crossing the ball well and feeling confident, he's actually quite a good player. It's just that that happens maybe half a dozen times per season.Wow, sounds worse then in his Ajax days, when crossing was the #1 and #2 task. Still, I think he never was the right guy playing the right position there. Or he was just unlucky being part of the worst Ajax team since the 1960's and was one of many in-between players.

[3ric]

Katon . . . Speaking of Cole being blocked by Lampard, how will Parker fare at Chelsea? Doesn't he play the same position as Lampard and Cole?

Parker should compete mainly with Makelele for playing time, I think. I could be wrong, though.

[Katon]

I think Parker's main function is going to be as a defensive midfielder who can also contribute going forward (which isn't part of Makelele's game). My read of the situation is that he was originally marked to replace Manu Petit when he left in the summer and we moved the schedule forward six months because of a minor injury crisis.

[MIJB#19]

And then, Arjen Robben went out with an injury for the fourth time this season.
This time sidelining him for a month, or maybe two and needing one to get back to form.

[Calis]

Sheesh, someone making Man Utd stop playing. It's becoming painful to watch.

Can't believe they just got mauled by City.

[Tekneek]

Manchester City!

What a wonderful result during a horrible season.

[Mac Howard]

>Can't believe they just got mauled by City.

They didn't so much get mauled by City as self destructed, aided by a malicious supernatural being that denied all their efforts during the first 45 minutes and then, as often before this season, sent a totally different team out after half time that only LOOKED like they were the same players :rolleyes:

I'm feeling particularly vulnerable this morning as yesterday my other team, the Perth Glory, were beaten 4-2 by a team that scored 3 goals from ouside of 30 yards. At times it seemed as if the opposition only had to toe-poke the ball forwards for it to fly like a rocket into the top corner of the goal.

Going to bed for a week :(

[Tekneek]

There are simply too many Manchester United fans on this planet. :)

[bhlloy]

Anyone else willing to bet Ferguson is gone at the end of the year if they don't beat Arsenal in the cup?

This year United are really starting to struggle from what quite honestly are his questionable moves: what would you give Mac to have someone like Stam at center back after watching Silvestre today? Spending the Beckham money on Saha instead of a center back is looking like a better and better move all the time....

[Mac Howard]

I still can't believe that Alex didn't buy a CB this January. It didn't have to be a world class player - a competent CB would have done to cover for the rest of the season and as a backup next. The Premiership is full of such players.

I'm very pleased with Saha. I don't see that as a bad buy. You can't win the CL with only one striker and that's all Utd have currently without Saha.

Utd could afford both but I suspect the PLC status is beginning to bite.

My rating is very appropriate this morning (just in case anyone still wondered what it meant :(
.

[daedalus]

I still can't believe that Alex didn't buy a CB this January. It didn't have to be a world class player - a competent CB would have done to cover for the rest of the season and as a backup next. The Premiership is full of such players.Pascal Cygan!@!$$% :DI'm very pleased with Saha. I don't see that as a bad buy. You can't win the CL with only one striker and that's all Utd have currently without Saha.But how do you REALLY feel about Diego Forlan? :)Utd could afford both but I suspect the PLC status is beginning to bite.I wonder if it's more the PLC status or if it's Ferguson's problems with the M&M boys that prevented further spending. I think the combined purchase of Cristiano Ronaldo, Saha and Kleberson probably did used up most, if not all of, the Beckham money (and possibly whatever funds he had for the year). If I remember correctly, Djemba-Djemba and Bellion were fairly "cheap".

I don't know that I really think Ferguson will really go anywhere or that United will really implode, regardless of how low they sink this season. Ferguson should have a high enough reputation to warrant him a stay of execution and next season he'll be removed from the M&M controversy and actually have an Assistant Manager for the entire season. Also, they'll have Ferdinand back in the lineup and, hopefully, O'Shea back to form (out of curiosity, is he a better centreback or fullback?). Plus, Van Nistelrooij and Saha for a whole season is dangerous. (If I recall correctly, they also signed a midfielder on a contract during the whole Saha saga so he might help as well.) I still think they're a player, if not THE player (along with the team on the side of all that is good, the Gunners, of course) in the premiership. At least, I think, until Chelsea can settle on a lineup and let it gel . . . then they'll be scary. REALLY scary.

[Mac Howard]

>But how do you REALLY feel about Diego Forlan?

Proof that scouts do not produce accurate assessments of a player's skills as some computer games would have you believe ;)

>I think the combined purchase of Cristiano Ronaldo, Saha and Kleberson probably did used up most, if not all of, the Beckham money (and possibly whatever funds he had for the year).

But we're the "biggest club in the world". We don't rely on selling players to pay for our purchases :rolleyes:

>If I remember correctly, Djemba-Djemba and Bellion were fairly "cheap".

There was a reason for this.

>Ferguson should have a high enough reputation to warrant him a stay of execution

His reputation is rapidly becoming tarnished but I guess he'll get another year. Did M&M know something we don't know when they insisted he was put on a rolling one year contract? :)

>Also, they'll have Ferdinand back in the lineup

Not until November if the FA refuse to reduce the ban.

>out of curiosity, is he (O'Shea) a better centreback or fullback?

Fullback for me. He can be quite effective overlapping.

>I still think they're a player, if not THE player (along with the team on the side of all that is good, the Gunners, of course) in the premiership.

It's now about confidence as much as squad quality. But I would like to see a dominating DM to backup/replace Keane, another CB and possibly a winger to backup Giggs and Ronaldo (if he doesn't have the second season form loss - a la O'Shea - I think he will be a significant Premiership player next year). The squad lacks depth.

>At least, I think, until Chelsea can settle on a lineup and let it gel . . . then they'll be scary. REALLY scary.

I read yesterday that Abramovic was selling his oil interests in Russia and was to make 500 million available to Ranieri. Sincerely hope not.

Alex needs to use the rest of this season to fully check out DjDj as DM, Kleberson as CM and Bellion as wide midfielder. He needs to know much more about these guys before deciding on what he needs to bring in the coming off-season. But he needs to be careful. Although he can forget trophies this season he still needs to come up with automatic qualification for the Champions League - that's far from certain with performances like yesterday's.

[Crapshoot]

I still can't believe that Alex didn't buy a CB this January. It didn't have to be a world class player - a competent CB would have done to cover for the rest of the season and as a backup next. The Premiership is full of such players.

I'm very pleased with Saha. I don't see that as a bad buy. You can't win the CL with only one striker and that's all Utd have currently without Saha.

Utd could afford both but I suspect the PLC status is beginning to bite.

My rating is very appropriate this morning (just in case anyone still wondered what it meant :(
.

The thing is, I doubt Boro could have turned down something like 3-5 million quid for Southgate- and damn, old he may be- but he sure as hell has to be better than what's out there. The shame for me is not O'Shea, who looked great last season but more down to earth now, but rather Brown- he's gone from looking like a great player pre-injury worries, to a poor man's Phil Neville (the old Phil at least :D)- someone who couldn't walk into half the premiership sides but has the "Man u" glow around him. Then again, I still think that the Veron-Stam swap was quite possibly Fergie's biggest mistake.

[Mac Howard]

Southgate would have been fine. Silvestre is a proactive player and needs a calmer, more experienced, reactive player alongside him. Southgate would have been fine and good for at least another year as backup.

Veron is a world class player but couldn't perform his stuff at the pace of the Premiership. I don't criticise Ferguson for believing that Veron would fit in at Utd. He couldn't know how he would perform at Premiership pace - neither Serie A nor international soccer, where veron is supreme, plays at this pace. It proved to be a mistake but not one that could have been predicted. My main complaint would be the time it took Alex to admit it was a mistake. Alex often mistakes stubborness for strength.

Stam? He was found guilty of taking drugs. Considering Rio's 8 month punishment for missing a test, Stam could have been give two life sentences for failing the test had he played for Utd ;)

[Crapshoot]

While we're at it Mac- Im curious if you share my assesment of Brown. He looks like a mere shadow of the player I remember back in the treble season- and generally, seems to make more mistakes and seems less instinctive. I guess he's exposed more now that he's not playing alongside a Stam/Ferdinand ?

As for Veron- hell, I like the guy- but Ferguson's decision making doesnt always make sense to me. He seems to be taking the anti- Real Madrid approach- he's buying mediocrities or decent players at filler prices instead of stars, when it seems the other approach is more yielding. One would hope that the Kieran Richardsons, Darren Fletchers, Danny Pughs and co of Man U can at least provide solid support- the cash spent of Djemba-Djemba, Bellion (with the tribunal) and Kleberson (about10 million by my account) could have been used to purchase a Kevin Hoftland, or a Mark Van Bommel- a combative central midfielder or a central defender.

[Mac Howard]

I think Brown was very unlucky. He's been out for around 9 months and obviously wasn't fully fit when he had to take over from Rio Ferdinand. At the same time, Alex brought in Saha and returned to a 4-4-2 so the defence didn't have the dual defensive midfielders protecting central defence. When the defence started to fail then Brown took the flak for it. He needed to come back into the game with the pressure off him. As it is I think his confidence is shot.

Just what's happening at Utd on the transfer front is beyond us all. Is Alex getting old? Did the board put greater limitations on his spending power than we know? Is the PLC status making finances so much important than the football?

Utd seemed to get caught up during the summer on signing Ronaldinho and when that fell through they seemed to lose the plot. I think they were convinced they were going to get him and the others were either supplementary to that signing or compensation for missing it. I don't think they were ever intended to be Alex's major signings.

Howard and Ronaldo have come good but the others so far have done nothing to justify their signing. I'd like to see them given a chance to show what they're worth in the remainder of the season.

[Chief Rum]

The thing is, I doubt Boro could have turned down something like 3-5 million quid for Southgate- and damn, old he may be- but he sure as hell has to be better than what's out there. The shame for me is not O'Shea, who looked great last season but more down to earth now, but rather Brown- he's gone from looking like a great player pre-injury worries, to a poor man's Phil Neville (the old Phil at least :D)- someone who couldn't walk into half the premiership sides but has the "Man u" glow around him. Then again, I still think that the Veron-Stam swap was quite possibly Fergie's biggest mistake.

No, stay away from Southgate! I would much rather he stay on my Boro then go to Man U.

CR

[Mac Howard]

No, stay away from Southgate! I would much rather he stay on my Boro then go to Man U.

CR

Com'on. We let you have McClaren :D

[Chief Rum]

Com'on. We let you have McClaren :D

He then went and looted your youth system for Greening and Wilson, too. ;)

Bah! You guys were never going to use them!

CR

[daedalus]

Here is a link (http://www.che.utexas.edu/korgel-group/bergkamp_1.mpg) to footage of a Dennis Bergkamp goal that someone posted the link to on BigSoccer. Roar! It's 10 megabytes, though, so be warned. But, dang, it's worth it. Now I just have to look for the Newcastle one.

Also, the Good Guys from Highbury will be taking on Katon's evil Chelsea tomorrow. It's on ESPN2 at 11:30 if anybody is interested and near a television at the time. Or at least could find a semi-legitimate excuse to get to a nearby sportsbar.

[daedalus]

In the first half, Arsenal threaten a couple of times but Chelsea looked better in my opinion (damn them!). They put together more interesting attacks more often and more consistently (curse them!). The pitch seemed a bit slippery with people losing their feet all over the place (damn it!). More calls and non-calls went Arsenal's way than should have been, in my opinion (shhhhhhh).

[daedalus]

Damn him all to Hell! Flippin' Einar Gudjohnsen used to kicked my arse all over the place in CM and now he just scored. Good efforts, though. He chased down and blocked Lehmann's clearance and just knocked the ball into the empty net. I hope Lauren bought a ticket since he had a really good view of the play.

Chelsea is completely kicking our ass in the 2nd half. Actually, they sort of have been since about the 15 minutes mark. Bastards.

Yay! Go Bob! Robert Pires answered that with a header off of Ashley Cole's cross. Odd goal for two reasons: for a change Pires was not marked by a damn good defense and you just don't see goals in the air for Arsenal all that much. But, yay! Away goal and we drew level!

[daedalus]

Oh . . . goody. A badass forward in Mutu leaves the game and do we get any relieve? No, we get to deal with Hernan Crespo now. Ugh. Joe Cole also came in for Scott Parker.

I was wondering why Gilberto came in for Dennis and how we were going to handle that. Wenger sent Reyes in for Freddie a few minutes later. I think that means Gilberto moves down to Freddie's right midfield slot - where he's been playing of late for some odd reason - and Reyes moves into Dennis' forward slot.

[daedalus]

Heh. Desailly was goofing around when Lehmann was trying to throw the ball forward and slapped the ball out of his hand . . . got a yellow out of that. A few minutes later, Vieira had pretty much a breakaway on a nice through ball and he had to take a chance on the ball. Ended up taking Vieira out and got his second yellow.

As an aside, Paddy Vieira complains a bit much. Especially given how the calls and non-calls have gone our way more than Chelsea's.

[daedalus]

It ended a 1-1 draw. Happily, Arsenal got an away goal in the game. Hopefully, we just go ahead and win the second leg at Highbury without all this suspense. Sadly, I just don't think that's an easy task. I think Chelsea will be fine defensively without Desailly, though, with Terry and Gallas on hand with Melchiot there. Their offense seems to be coming together as well.

[Katon]

I hate Arsenal. Our best performance of the season, and we still can't beat them. On the plus side, if we can repeat that at Highbury (not a given by any means), then given how tired Arsenal will be we ought to have a very good shot at going through.

[daedalus]

Don't hate the Gunners, hate the game. :D

I thought Chelsea looked good today. I think they'll be crazy scary next season (barring implosion through unhappiness over playing time).

With Cech and Robben coming in, who do you forsee leaving this summer? Will Forsell being staying or going?

[Mac Howard]

>I think they'll be crazy scary next season

I guess it depends on who's the manager. Doesn't look at the moment that it will be Ranieri - unless he wins the second leg and goes all the way :)

Good game to watch though.

[fhasumi]

Is it too late for the obligitory This will revolutionalize the way people don't watch soccer. post?

If not, DIBS!

[Calis]

2nd leg of Celtic vs. Barca on FSW today!

Can't wait, even took the day off work in preparation. ;)

[3ric]

Here is a link (http://www.che.utexas.edu/korgel-group/bergkamp_1.mpg) to footage of a Dennis Bergkamp goal that someone posted the link to on BigSoccer. Roar! It's 10 megabytes, though, so be warned. But, dang, it's worth it. Now I just have to look for the Newcastle one.

The Newcastle goal, is that the one where he hit a backheel on one side of Nikos Dabisaz (sp?), ran on the other side and beat the keeper with the wrong foot? I have a clip somewhere of that goal, I think - I'm going to se if I can find it...

[Katon]

Don't hate the Gunners, hate the game. :D

I thought Chelsea looked good today. I think they'll be crazy scary next season (barring implosion through unhappiness over playing time).

With Cech and Robben coming in, who do you forsee leaving this summer? Will Forsell being staying or going?

Well, if Ranieri goes, then all bets are off, since the new guy will want his own players. If Ranieri stays, though, then the only weaknesses that've shown up in our current squad are the massive dropoffs when Cudicini and Duff get hurt and the lack of a right winger. Cech and Robben are obviously meant to solve the first two problems, so the only spot left is the right wing. We might sign someone to play there (beat Madrid to Joaquin, please!) or we might play Duff on the right - where he's looked dangerous sometimes this season - and Robben on the left. Off the top of my head, the only important squad members whose contracts expire in the summer are Hasslebaink and Melchiot; Forsell is the obvious (and vastly superior) replacement for Jimmy, and I have absolutely no idea who Ranieri would bring in as a right-back.

[daedalus]

Yeah, I agree that if that likely managerial change occurs then it changes the situation.

On the other hand, except for the people leaving, these guys will have had a year to play together and get used to each other and most of them are just darn good players (as oppose to players who are good for certain systems) so they should be able to fit in with whatever scheme comes in. Isn't the guy Queiroz replaced at Real Madrid still available? He may make a good fit since he's already used to handling superstars.

I don't know that I would put Robben on the left and move Duff to the right. Duff seems the type that likes playing wide then sending in crosses where Robben seems to enjoy cutting in and attacking (for a comparison, maybe Freddie Ljungberg?). Robben may make a better candidate to convert to the right side. I thought they had the kid that they paid a lot for for right-back? In any case, I still think they'd be better off retaining Melchiot. He seems like a good player to me. Forsell would make a good replacement for Hasslebaink if he would stay happy being one of four strikers in the rotation. I think he's already made some noises about wanting out unless he's going to get major minute. What about that Russian (?) midfielder they have on loan? Is he an option for right-wing?

Regardless, if they make a good choice on Rineiri's replacement or have the sense to give him another chance, I still think Chelsea will be a major player in both Europe and League.

[daedalus]

The Newcastle goal, is that the one where he hit a backheel on one side of Nikos Dabisaz (sp?), ran on the other side and beat the keeper with the wrong foot? I have a clip somewhere of that goal, I think - I'm going to se if I can find it...Yeah, that's the one. If you have it, I'd love to see it. :)

[3ric]

Yeah, that's the one. If you have it, I'd love to see it. :)

You have a PM.

[rufusjonz]

3 Americans on the pitch today Fulham vs Man City

Reyna, Bocanegra, McBride

wooot go USA!

[Crapshoot]

I think Ranieri is about as likely to manage Chelsea next season as I am....

[Mac Howard]

Just 2 hours to the kickoff of the EPL match of the season. It looks as if Howard will be rested - only hope that both managers don't decide that next week's semi-final is more inportant than this relatively meaningless league game and rest a number of players.

Still, the beer's in, the lads will soon be on their way over and I even have the Bolton - Newcastle game to warm up with. Hope you guys get to see it :)

[Crapshoot]

Just 2 hours to the kickoff of the EPL match of the season. It looks as if Howard will be rested - only hope that both managers don't decide that next week's semi-final is more inportant than this relatively meaningless league game and rest a number of players.

Still, the beer's in, the lads will soon be on their way over and I even have the Bolton - Newcastle game to warm up with. Hope you guys get to see it :)

Mac, didnt you hear ? He's been given a 3 game "rest" by Fergie... :D

[daedalus]

Hi. I heart 3ric. That is all. Thank you.

And thank you, 3ric! :)

[daedalus]

I didn't get to see the Arsenal-Manchester United game, only read about it. Apparently, a whole lot of diving from both sides. A question for those who did see the game: was the Scholes challenge on Reyes as bad as some people are making it out to be?

[3ric]

It was a typical reckless tackle by Scholes, he wasn't close to the ball and came from behind. He was lucky not to get a red card, but I think the injury to Reyes was more bad luck than a deliberate attempt to injure. When looking at the replays, it looks like the foot is getting caught in the grass under him when the body is pushed forwards, twisting the left knee.

[andy m]

arsenal were diving much more than united, they paniced. should have scored a couple early on and once they didn't they just got desperate and blew it.

and roy carroll is a better keeper than howard on recent evidence.

[daedalus]

That's what I gathered (from a lot of the Arsenal crowd on BigSoccer) with regards to the diving.

By the way . . .

The Good Guys (that's Arsenal to the rest of y'all) will be taking on their evil neighbor in blue and their oil money (even if they qualified for Europe withOUT that big money and a major part of the team was wonderfully built on not a lot of money) tomorrow. ESPN2 will be showing it at 11:30AM PST. Yay!

[daedalus]

Geez, Matthijs . . . you can't be storming the field in reserve games!

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=297274&cc=5901

[MIJB#19]

Geez, Matthijs . . . you can't be storming the field in reserve games!

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=297274&cc=5901Daedalus,
our country is ashamed, this is one of the worst sports related events of the country of the past years.

Why does the game of football attract morons as fans?
Why?

:o

[Katon]

The Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year shortlists just got released, so I thought I'd contribute my personal ballots:

PFA Player of the Year
1. Thierry Henry
2. Frank Lampard
3. Steven Gerrard

PFA Young Player of the Year
1. John Terry
2. Kolo Toure
3. Shaun Wright-Phillips

[daedalus]

PFA Young Player of the Year
1. John Terry
2. Kolo Toure
3. Shaun Wright-PhillipsBut . . . but . . . but . . . KOLO! :D

All bias-ness aside, I don't think you can go wrong with Terry either. Good player.

[Katon]

My logic there is that JT's been the center of our defence all year long, and Toure hasn't had quite so key a role in your defence. Not to knock Toure - he's been one of the biggest reasons Arsenal have surprised people this season - but JT has been that little bit better.

[daedalus]

I'd have to disagree about how key Toure has been in Arsenal's defense.

Can't disagree about how good Terry has been, though.

[daedalus]

Oh, yeah . . . Chelsea-Monaco Champie's League dance is on ESPN 2 today (11:30AM PST).

EPL replay will be on FSW2 later on (1PM PST) as well. Of course, of ALL the interesting going ons in the league, they chose Fulham-Liverpool. Meh.

[daedalus]

That was a bullshit red card. I've lost any and ALL respect I have ever had for Claude Makelele with his Rivaldo-stunt. He pushed/patted Zikos' face (depending on your perspective, I suppose) then when Zikos retaliated with a slap to the back of his head, he took a few steps before he realized how badly Zikos screwed up then he dropped to the ground like he'd been shot. That was a lame, lame piece of acting. For shame.

[MIJB#19]

So, for the first time since very long (probably since the Ajax knockout games against Club Brugge) I sat out the full 90+ minutes of a Champions' League game.

Just when you start to believe in Chelsea('s way of buying a team), they manage to lose 3-1, despite 40 minutes of "powerplay".

[bhlloy]

Way to fall apart by Chelsea, but give Monaco a lot of credit. They're very dangerous down the flanks and they can look mediocre for long periods and then hit you with a couple of quick breaks and it's all over - which is what they have been doing all tournament long. Giuly has always been one of the most underrated players in Europe.

Chelsea still have a shot but they must not concede a goal at home or they are out.

[daedalus]

Way to fall apart by Chelsea, but give Monaco a lot of credit. They're very dangerous down the flanks and they can look mediocre for long periods and then hit you with a couple of quick breaks and it's all over - which is what they have been doing all tournament long. Giuly has always been one of the most underrated players in Europe.Sounds like a good description of what I saw from Monaco yesterday. They're interesting. I hope they work something out so they can keep Morientes.

That was the first time I'd seen Giuly play. Interesting player and very impressive.

[BreizhManu]

Sounds like a good description of what I saw from Monaco yesterday. They're interesting. I hope they work something out so they can keep Morientes.

They have financial problems (were about to get relegated for financial reasons last season) and they probably can't afford to pay his salary (right now Real is still paying 60% of his salary). He was brought in to replace an injured (6 months) Nonda anyway.

[Katon]

I'm not going to bother to defend Makelele because he doesn't deserve it. Not only was that a dive, it was an embarassingly inept one. That said, I don't think Monaco deserve the moral high ground; Morientes was diving all over the place (albeit somewhat less blatantly than Makelele) trying to get Melchiot his second booking, and he should have gone for that kick on Parker.

Things are looking bad - and I suspect that CR just tinkered his way out of his job - but they aren't hopeless. I think Monaco have a fairly poor away record (can one of the french posters confirm?), and between our equalizer and half-time we were completely dominant. If we reproduce that level of performance for a significant portion of the second leg while Damien Duff is on the pitch, I think we'll go through. Our defense should be better off with Gallas back, especially if UEFA decides to ban Morientes for the aforementioned kick, and I can see us winning 2-0 or 3-1.

[MIJB#19]

Monaco on the road?

2-1 win at PSV (Eindhoven) first group phase game
0-1 loss at Deportivo (la Coruna) was third game when AS were already 5 points clear from 3rd place
0-0 draw at AEK (Athena) was last game of group phase, AS needed a draw or better to qualify
1-2 loss at Lokomotiv (Moskva) was first game of ko-round
2-4 loss at Real Madrid was first game of ko-round

[bhlloy]

Monaco on the road?

2-1 win at PSV (Eindhoven) first group phase game
0-1 loss at Deportivo (la Coruna) was third game when AS were already 5 points clear from 3rd place
0-0 draw at AEK (Athena) was last game of group phase, AS needed a draw or better to qualify
1-2 loss at Lokomotiv (Moskva) was first game of ko-round
2-4 loss at Real Madrid was first game of ko-round


True, but the 0-0 draw is the most important of these. They needed a draw and they got it (and AEK aren't a bad team)

I can see Chelsea winning on the day but Monaco are so explosive and one goal should be enough to put Chelsea out.
So... 2-0 or better is what Chelsea need. Doable enough but I just have a feeling it's not going to happen.

[MIJB#19]

Actually, my additional comments were ment to underline that despite the relative poor record, Monaco got things done in the return games at home, or had an excuse not to be too concerned about the loss at Deportivo and the draw at AEK.
:)

[daedalus]

I'm not going to bother to defend Makelele because he doesn't deserve it. Not only was that a dive, it was an embarassingly inept one. That said, I don't think Monaco deserve the moral high ground; Morientes was diving all over the place (albeit somewhat less blatantly than Makelele) trying to get Melchiot his second booking, and he should have gone for that kick on Parker.I don't remember seeing much diving by Morientes. He did definitely kicked out on Parker but I felt like Parker had a part in that since I felt like he was kicking around Morientes' legs as well. I'm annoyed about Desailly's suspension (http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=298052&cc=5901), though. I felt like Morientes instigated that one by hanging onto him and I didn't think it was an "intentional" elbow, more of a "get away from me" one.Things are looking bad - and I suspect that CR just tinkered his way out of his job - but they aren't hopeless. I think Monaco have a fairly poor away record (can one of the french posters confirm?), and between our equalizer and half-time we were completely dominant. If we reproduce that level of performance for a significant portion of the second leg while Damien Duff is on the pitch, I think we'll go through. Our defense should be better off with Gallas back, especially if UEFA decides to ban Morientes for the aforementioned kick, and I can see us winning 2-0 or 3-1.A part of me would be happy to see Ranieri go since I think having Ranieri for another year will help them, which in turns is bad for the Gunners. Another part would be sad since I'd like to see him get a legitimate chance to guide the team.

I'm kind of surprise the guy who used to manage Real hasn't been connected with Chelsea. He's used to pressure and used to dealing with superstars.

[Chief Rum]

Quiroz?

In a CM game I am playing now, Real Madrid didn't make it out of the group stage of Champions and is in fourth in the Primera Liga. Now that's pressure! :)

Quiroz is down to "Ok" reputation in my game.

CR

[daedalus]

Hey Matthijs,

According to a poster name rickbreese on the BigSoccer message board, Arsenal is coming to Amsterdam this summer:As I know there are a lot of Arsenal supporters in the U.S. who are also Ajax fans (im guessing because of Dennis), I thought you maya ll like to know that Arsenal have been confirmed for the Amsterdam Tournament this summer. It will happen after the pre-season tour to Austria (21st July to 29th July). The games are from the 30th July to the 1st August 2004. The four teams this year are Arsenal, Ajax, River Plate of Argentina and Panathinaikos of Greece. All in all should be a nice little extra from the pre-season tour. The first game have been announced and they are:

Arsenal v River Plate and Ajax v Panathinaikos

Because of the Euro 2004, I had said that I wouldn't of expected many of the first team to play in the games in Austria, but when they have been to Amsterdam before, it has been a mixture of new players and stars, so expect to see more of the same!!I can't remember which team in Eredivisie you support, but it sounds like there should be some very entertaining football. Lots of talents on display.

Now, if only Wenger get to see and be impressed by River's Maxi Lopez like I was in my CM game (I've never seen him real life) and pick him up for the Gunners . . . :D

As an aside, apparently, Wenger might be rekindling his interest in Van Persie again. Supposedly, the figure is £4M this time. I'm not sure it makes a lot of sense as he's a very similar player to Reyes. Unless Wenger wants Reyes up front full-time and wants Van Persie as an understudy to Pires. But I seem to remember some grumblings from Van Persie about wanting to move inside. Now sure how that would work.

[We . . . Want . . . Van Der Vaart . . . Barcelona be damned. :D]

[daedalus]

Quiroz?The guy he replaced. Can't remember his name now.

[BreizhManu]

The guy he replaced. Can't remember his name now.

Vicente Del Bosque

and it's Queiroz not Quiroz

[daedalus]

Yeah, Del Bosque. Oddly, I don't think I have seen his name connected with any of the major clubs.

As an aside, the PFA came out with their Premiership Team (http://skysports1.planetfootball.com/article.asp?id=199741&cpid=9). I don't know how good Vieira was this season but it would be hard to argue with the other 3. Henry is, obviously, Henry. I don't know if I would have gone with Van Nistelrooij or Shearer. I think the choices of Cole and Lauren in the back are kind of iffy, as dangerous as Cole can be offensively. A case could be made IF they had to have a right- and a left-back but they didn't seem so concern with positions in the midfield (with Vieira, Lampard and Gerrard). I would think that there had to have been better defenders in the Premiership. Perhaps Gallas or Southgate? I'm also not sure about Howard's selection. He was very good in the first half of the season but finished the season behind Roy Carroll.

[Mac Howard]

>He was very good in the first half of the season but finished the season behind Roy Carroll.

He's back in favour :)

I'm in tune with your comments on Cole and Lauren. I recently posted a similar message about Gary Neville not being a quality fullback. In response, omeone pointed out that he's probably the best English right back.

Of course, we're both right. He is England's best right back and he's not very good either ;)

Incidentally, congratulations to Arsenal on their Premiership trophy. Fully deserved! They even did it with the style of football we used to see at Utd :rolleyes:

[MIJB#19]

Hey Matthijs,

According to a poster name rickbreese on the BigSoccer message board, Arsenal is coming to Amsterdam this summer:I can't remember which team in Eredivisie you support, but it sounds like there should be some very entertaining football. Lots of talents on display.

Now, if only Wenger get to see and be impressed by River's Maxi Lopez like I was in my CM game (I've never seen him real life) and pick him up for the Gunners . . . :D

As an aside, apparently, Wenger might be rekindling his interest in Van Persie again. Supposedly, the figure is £4M this time. I'm not sure it makes a lot of sense as he's a very similar player to Reyes. Unless Wenger wants Reyes up front full-time and wants Van Persie as an understudy to Pires. But I seem to remember some grumblings from Van Persie about wanting to move inside. Now sure how that would work.

[We . . . Want . . . Van Der Vaart . . . Barcelona be damned. :D]Ah, the Amsterdam Tournament.
An annual friendlies tournament with Ajax and 3 other big name teams.
The four teams you mention even sound like a downgrade over the last years... (Even with Arsenal on site.)

Concerning Van Persie, I have a feeling people have been talking all the time and the transfer has never been really off.
Why?
Well, I have to be careful, but I heard from really reliable sources Van Persie never dropped Arsenal from his mind. He's been like either Arsenal or no transfer, but that's a public secret.:o
I've said too much already now...

And my club is FC Utrecht, knocked out for anything league wise this season a month from season's end, yet playing in the cup final for the third time in three years coming May.

Forza Utreg, Ole, Ole!

[Katon]

As an aside, the PFA came out with their Premiership Team (http://skysports1.planetfootball.com/article.asp?id=199741&cpid=9). I don't know how good Vieira was this season but it would be hard to argue with the other 3. Henry is, obviously, Henry. I don't know if I would have gone with Van Nistelrooij or Shearer. I think the choices of Cole and Lauren in the back are kind of iffy, as dangerous as Cole can be offensively. A case could be made IF they had to have a right- and a left-back but they didn't seem so concern with positions in the midfield (with Vieira, Lampard and Gerrard). I would think that there had to have been better defenders in the Premiership. Perhaps Gallas or Southgate? I'm also not sure about Howard's selection. He was very good in the first half of the season but finished the season behind Roy Carroll.

I'd have gone for Anti Niemi in goal. Howard is the best candidate from the Big Three, with Cudicini having been injured so much, but has definitely not been the best in the league. I'd also insert Gallas for Lauren (Gallas has played at right back for us a few times this year, and is much better than Lauren) and Bridge for Cole, though that last is at least partly bias. The midfield . . . well, Lampard, Gerrard, and Viera are going to be tripping over each other, but they have been pick of the league's midfielders by some distance this year. With Duff having been out injured, Pires is probably the best choice for the last slot.

Congratulations to Arsenal on winning the title. Going unbeaten for an entire season, or even 34 games of one, is an incredible achievement. That said, I don't think you'll repeat next year. You've been lucky enough to have all of your key players fit all year, while Duff, Cudicini, and Ferdinand - the players Chelsea and Man U had no replacements for - all missed large chunks of time. During the autumn, when all of them were available, Arsenal were no better than the other two. That sort of injury luck ought to balance out next year. Add in the fact that Chelsea will probably outspend them and add one of Europe's hottest coaches (Mourinho), and I can't see Arsenal as favorites for 2004-2005.

Great job this year, though.

[Mac Howard]

I believe we're also beginning to see a further consequence of the Bosman ruling finally coming through. Five years ago the received wisdom was that a club needed a squad of at least 18 quality players to effectively compete in the Champions League. But the soaring wages that have followed the ruling have knocked that on the head and 13/14 players (for all but Chelsea) are now the norm.

Utd supposedly have more cash to spend than other clubs but a visit to any Man Utd web site will see the frustration that fans experience because of lack of depth in the squad. When Scholes was injured early in the season, and now with him banned for 3 matches, there is simply no flair attack midfield to replace him. When Solskjaer needed an operation at the start of the season then Utd were reduced to just 1 effective striker, van Nistelrooy, for more than half the season and ,as a result, is now suffering a series of niggling injuries from over exposure. When Ferdinand started his ban the Utd defence went from the best in the league to almost the worst until the slowing recovering Brown regained his fitness.

Scholes, Solskjaer, Ferdinand - all crucial players but none of them have reasonable replacements in what is supposedly the richest club in the world.

I was first amongst those shouting for Alex to do something about it until I saw that Forlan was being paid over $60,000 a week. The guy isn't remotely first team material. I've got used to big salaries for the likes of Beckham and Keane but $60,000 for a third string player?

It could be that Utd are paying way over the top. Maybe. Or maybe this is the sort of money you have to pay these days to entice a player with potential into the EPL. If so, it certainly explains why a club can no longer afford to have a squad of 18 quality players.

In praise of Wenger - he has achieved his success without having the resources of other top European clubs. Perhaps he's merely ahead of the times and other managers are now struggling to catch up with his techniques of producing a quality team with limited resources.

[Mr. Wednesday]

To a certain extent, I think you might be seeing the same thing as in e.g. baseball, where only the richest of clubs (i.e. the Yankees and to a lesser extent the Red Sox) can afford to pay for top players at most positions, and teams without that level of resources win by getting players cheaply on the upswing of their career, using them, and letting them walk when the price gets too high.

[Katon]

You think Forlan is overpayed? Try Winston Bogarde, the patron saint of bad Bosman contracts. £40,000/week for several years and he's made something like seven appearances for us the whole time.

After looking a bit more carefully at the various teams' depth, I have to admit that Arsenal are actually just as deep as Man U. I don't think they're deeper, but they are just as deep. Still, Chelsea and Man U have both suffered a great deal from injuries this year while Arsenal haven't, and I don't expect that to repeat next year.

[Easy Mac]

Tim Howard was named to PFA Team of the year.

[daedalus]

What say we form a striker crew of Diego Forlan, Sylvain Wiltord and Emile Heskey? :D

[MIJB#19]

You think Forlan is overpayed? Try Winston Bogarde, the patron saint of bad Bosman contracts. £40,000/week for several years and he's made something like seven appearances for us the whole time.Winston Bogarde...
You know, he's become synonym of overpaidness in the NLs.

Actually, with the absence of capable Dutch left backs, it's really sad to hear Bogarde is not playing and has basically now wasted his talent (I guess he never has been the same after that injury that hit him at Euro2000(?))

Boudewijn Zenden and Giovanni van Bronckhorst just aren't left backs and in the Dutch league, every good team has a foreign player at that position. And Wilfred Bouma has emerged into a central defender, while Philliup Cocu belongs in the center of the field.

[MIJB#19]

Finally, the Van Persie transfer to Arsenal is official.

[daedalus]

I'd also insert Gallas for Lauren (Gallas has played at right back for us a few times this year, and is much better than Lauren) and Bridge for Cole, though that last is at least partly bias. The midfield . . . well, Lampard, Gerrard, and Viera are going to be tripping over each other, but they have been pick of the league's midfielders by some distance this year. With Duff having been out injured, Pires is probably the best choice for the last slot.Gallas would have been a deserving choice, I think. Perhaps Southgate is another? I wasn't referencing Lampard, Gerrard and Vieira so much because they did not deserve to be be on the squad but only that the voters did not seem to care about positions there - as all three are central midfielders - where I felt like they DID seem to care about it in the backline - the only way I can really see justification for Cole and Lauren is if you want a leftback, a right back and two centrebacks. I don't know that I would consider Pires a choice by default. By pure numbers alone, 14 goals and 10 assists is not a bad season. More than that, he's been a very big part of the Gunners' offense where it seems much of our goals come from that left side with the Cole-Pires-Henry connection.

I do have a question about Sol, though. Is he as good as his reputation or is he more reputation? In all the interviews I've read with him, I like him as GoodPeople[tm]. I haven't seem him enough to form a solid opinion about his game, though. (But I was happy with his performance during the World Cup.)Congratulations to Arsenal on winning the title. Going unbeaten for an entire season, or even 34 games of one, is an incredible achievement. That said, I don't think you'll repeat next year. You've been lucky enough to have all of your key players fit all year, while Duff, Cudicini, and Ferdinand - the players Chelsea and Man U had no replacements for - all missed large chunks of time. During the autumn, when all of them were available, Arsenal were no better than the other two. That sort of injury luck ought to balance out next year. Add in the fact that Chelsea will probably outspend them and add one of Europe's hottest coaches (Mourinho), and I can't see Arsenal as favorites for 2004-2005.

Great job this year, though.Even if Chelsea don't do much spending (beyond, y'know, Robben and Cech), they already have tons of talents. Not even to speak of bringing back Forsell and Smertin. Cech provides strong cover for Cudicini and Robben the same for Duff (really sucks to read about his shoulder injury). I'd like to see a new right winger (hopefully NOT one who's married to a Spice Girl, that would make them too damn scary) or at least to see Cole be given a chance out there, but I'm not sure where that would leave Parker. The midfield combination of Makelele and Lampard is NICE. Perhaps Parker can be the guy who bounces between them two to give them rest?

I don't think Manchester United will be going anywhere, either. Howard will have had a year behind him. Ferdinand will be back. Brown will be further remove from his injury. O'Shea should be back in form. Fortune will hopefully keep developing. Keane, Giggs and Scholes will still be Keane, Giggs and Scholes. Cristiano Ronaldo will still flop to the ground (heh) but he'll also have a year in the EPL behind him and be stronger. Saha and Van Nistelrooij will have a whole year to play together. It's not impossible to think that either Djemba-Djemba or Kleberson will have adapted to the premiership by then. I'm sure Ferguson will also be making a couple of expensive signings. He'll have an assistant manager for a full season this time around. All positive signs (well, for their fans anyway), in my opinion.

But back to Gallas . . . he WOULD look good in the Gunners' kit if, y'know, the rumoured Samuel signing does go through. :D

[daedalus]

I believe we're also beginning to see a further consequence of the Bosman ruling finally coming through. Five years ago the received wisdom was that a club needed a squad of at least 18 quality players to effectively compete in the Champions League. But the soaring wages that have followed the ruling have knocked that on the head and 13/14 players (for all but Chelsea) are now the norm.

Utd supposedly have more cash to spend than other clubs but a visit to any Man Utd web site will see the frustration that fans experience because of lack of depth in the squad. When Scholes was injured early in the season, and now with him banned for 3 matches, there is simply no flair attack midfield to replace him. When Solskjaer needed an operation at the start of the season then Utd were reduced to just 1 effective striker, van Nistelrooy, for more than half the season and ,as a result, is now suffering a series of niggling injuries from over exposure. When Ferdinand started his ban the Utd defence went from the best in the league to almost the worst until the slowing recovering Brown regained his fitness.

Scholes, Solskjaer, Ferdinand - all crucial players but none of them have reasonable replacements in what is supposedly the richest club in the world.

I was first amongst those shouting for Alex to do something about it until I saw that Forlan was being paid over $60,000 a week. The guy isn't remotely first team material. I've got used to big salaries for the likes of Beckham and Keane but $60,000 for a third string player?

It could be that Utd are paying way over the top. Maybe. Or maybe this is the sort of money you have to pay these days to entice a player with potential into the EPL. If so, it certainly explains why a club can no longer afford to have a squad of 18 quality players.

In praise of Wenger - he has achieved his success without having the resources of other top European clubs. Perhaps he's merely ahead of the times and other managers are now struggling to catch up with his techniques of producing a quality team with limited resources.But is that really the result of lack of funds or bad luck in buying, though? I mean, Ferguson brought in enough players to cover those injuries but they just haven't seem to perform up to the standards needed to fill-in. Okay, admittedly it's a SMIDGE hard to replace a Ferdinand or a Scholes or a Van Nistelrooij. C'mon, they're some of the best in the world but their replacements can still try to provide adequate covers so that the team isn't completely down.

Wenger isn't immuned to this, either . . . Look at what he spent on Francis Jeffers. It might be possible to say the same for Sylvain Wiltord, although he has made contributions in some big games. Through bad luck and injuries, he hasn't gotten much production out Giovanni van Bronckhorst, either. (But I'm biased and I like the Gio so we'll skip that one.)

[Katon]

Gallas would have been a deserving choice, I think. Perhaps Southgate is another? I wasn't referencing Lampard, Gerrard and Vieira so much because they did not deserve to be be on the squad but only that the voters did not seem to care about positions there - as all three are central midfielders - where I felt like they DID seem to care about it in the backline - the only way I can really see justification for Cole and Lauren is if you want a leftback, a right back and two centrebacks. I don't know that I would consider Pires a choice by default. By pure numbers alone, 14 goals and 10 assists is not a bad season. More than that, he's been a very big part of the Gunners' offense where it seems much of our goals come from that left side with the Cole-Pires-Henry connection.

Oh, Pires deserves to be in the squad, no question. It's just that my entirely unbiased (yeah, right) opinion is that when he's fit Duff is the best winger in the league. I also agree with how odd it is that they've paid attention to the flanks in the defence but not in the midfield - though speaking as a Chelsea fan I can assure you that three central midfielders really is a viable formation.

I do have a question about Sol, though. Is he as good as his reputation or is he more reputation? In all the interviews I've read with him, I like him as GoodPeople[tm]. I haven't seem him enough to form a solid opinion about his game, though. (But I was happy with his performance during the World Cup.)Even if Chelsea don't do much spending (beyond, y'know, Robben and Cech), they already have tons of talents. Not even to speak of bringing back Forsell and Smertin. Cech provides strong cover for Cudicini and Robben the same for Duff (really sucks to read about his shoulder injury). I'd like to see a new right winger (hopefully NOT one who's married to a Spice Girl, that would make them too damn scary) or at least to see Cole be given a chance out there, but I'm not sure where that would leave Parker. The midfield combination of Makelele and Lampard is NICE. Perhaps Parker can be the guy who bounces between them two to give them rest?

Well, if the rumours are anything to go by then your choice for our new right winger is between the guy who's married to a Spice Girl and the guy who Real Madrid thinks is Figo's successor. Personally, I'd prefer Joaquin, but that's just because he's never played for Man U. Beyond the right wing, I suspect that the new coach (Mourinho, preferably) will be clearing out some of our midfield, but I have very little idea of who's going to get cleared out. Well, probably not Lampard or Duff, but beyond them I have no idea.

I don't think Manchester United will be going anywhere, either. Howard will have had a year behind him. Ferdinand will be back. Brown will be further remove from his injury. O'Shea should be back in form. Fortune will hopefully keep developing. Keane, Giggs and Scholes will still be Keane, Giggs and Scholes. Cristiano Ronaldo will still flop to the ground (heh) but he'll also have a year in the EPL behind him and be stronger. Saha and Van Nistelrooij will have a whole year to play together. It's not impossible to think that either Djemba-Djemba or Kleberson will have adapted to the premiership by then. I'm sure Ferguson will also be making a couple of expensive signings. He'll have an assistant manager for a full season this time around. All positive signs (well, for their fans anyway), in my opinion.

But back to Gallas . . . he WOULD look good in the Gunners' kit if, y'know, the rumoured Samuel signing does go through. :D

I think Man U's prospects for next year depend on how accurate the Van Nistelrooij-to-Madrid rumours are. If he goes, then I can't see anyone in their squad right now who could get into the Chelsea or Arsenal starting lineups. Well, Ronaldo could start on our right wing, but not if Beckham or Joaquin shows up.

My guess at what will happen if we do sign Samuel is that Terry & Samuel become the best centre-back pairing in the division, Marcel Desailly takes a much reduced role (sadly, his game seems to be lost to age), Mario Melchiot leaves, and Gallas provides us with backup at right-back and in the middle. Right now we don't have any good cover at either position, though I'd still take Huth and Melchiot over Cygan and whoever Arsenal's backup right-back is, if not over their Man U equivalents.

[Mac Howard]

I don't think van Nistelrooy's going to Real or anywhere else. I know it's fashionable to point out that Beckham was going nowhere also this time last year but there were clearly signs of problems between him and Ferguson that facilitated his going. It seems we have to got to a point now with the media that it's impossible to respond to rumours without the Mandy Rice-Davis response (he would say that, wouldn't he").

If he were to go then it would be for a very high price and I feel sure that someone of similar status would be brought in.

Van Nistelrooy's success as a one man strike force is over. EPL defenders are much more alive to his techniques now and I think Utd's attacking capability next season will come from the success of their new strike pairing - currently van Nistelrooy and Saha - and no longer dependant on Van Nistelrooy alone. For that reason I think he's not as irreplaceable as he has been.

It may well be my Utd bias but I personally think Giggs is streets ahead of Pires but it may also be because I can't get over those duck feet ;)

[Mac Howard]

Tim gets his first medal. First American with an FA Cup winners' medal.

[daedalus]

So Manchester United signs the ketchup guy (*cough*Heinze*cough*) and we respond with an aluminum (Miguel Alumnia, name stolen from Arseblog). Dude's spent the last two season loaned out from Celta. Meh. I would've preferred giving Stack/Taylor a chance and using the "credit" (Celta owed us money for Silvinho) on another player. Perhaps a Peter Luccin.

Looks like we're also chasing and getting close on Ajax's Hatem Trabelsi. Any scouting report on the fella, Matthijs? From what I've read so far: fast, attacking right-back. Sounds a lot like Lauren. Perhaps except for the "fast" part (since I wouldn't actually call Lauren "fast"). And, heck, if he has a remote idea on how to defend, well, then he'll already be an improvement on Lauren.

So to conclude . . . we signed an Aluminum and a Hatem. Joy. I'm still bitter about Gerard Pique. But we have Cesc. So . . . nyah, nyah! Ha!

[daedalus]

What I currently know about Mateja Kezman:

- He's scored something like 95 goals in the last four seasons for PSV
- Chelsea have just agreed a fee with PSV for him

MIJB, can you help me out?So with Kezman on board, y'all are at: Gudjonsen, Crespo, Mutu and Kezman. Am I missing anyone? I'm not counting the loan-outs, Forsell and Cole. I'm guessing Kezman moves right into the lineup. I've heard Crespo is being offered as a season-long loan to a Serie A club. That leaves Gudjonsen and Mutu. What are your thoughts on them?

[MIJB#19]

Looks like we're also chasing and getting close on Ajax's Hatem Trabelsi. Any scouting report on the fella, Matthijs? From what I've read so far: fast, attacking right-back. Sounds a lot like Lauren. Perhaps except for the "fast" part (since I wouldn't actually call Lauren "fast"). And, heck, if he has a remote idea on how to defend, well, then he'll already be an improvement on Lauren.

So to conclude . . . we signed an Aluminum and a Hatem. Joy. I'm still bitter about Gerard Pique. But we have Cesc. So . . . nyah, nyah! Ha!Trabelsi?
fast - check
attacking - check
good cross - check
nasty defender - check
good marker - check
has to leave Ajax because he's too expensive as a foreigner and expendable with two slightly lesser options available - check

[daedalus]

So you say he can defend? It's an upgrade! :D

[RPI-Fan]

Jim Spector is close to first team football at ManU, apparantly. For a young Central Defender to make it into the squad is pretty durned impressive; if he actually sees playing time, it's quite a coup.

[Katon]

So with Kezman on board, y'all are at: Gudjonsen, Crespo, Mutu and Kezman. Am I missing anyone? I'm not counting the loan-outs, Forsell and Cole. I'm guessing Kezman moves right into the lineup. I've heard Crespo is being offered as a season-long loan to a Serie A club. That leaves Gudjonsen and Mutu. What are your thoughts on them?

Eidur's about as close to Dennis Bergkamp as you can get without going to Highbury. Same style of player, but only very good instead of great. He's been at Chelsea longer than any of the rest of our strikers and I like him a lot. Mutu had a great start last year, but then hit a major slump. I think we owe him a bit more time to see which part of the season was his real level, but he wouldn't start for me right now.

I have absolutely no idea what's going on with Crespo - lots of rumours, no facts - but he looked class last season when he was fit and starting, so unless he actually wants to leave I'd keep him. Even if he did want to leave, I might ask him to stay on until January, since there's a clause in Forsell's loan deal letting us bring him back halfway through if we want.

[daedalus]

Arsenal signed a young French midfielder named Mathieu Flamini. Could anyone who follows the French league give me some kind of idea of what type of player he is and how good he is, please?

At this point, I would almost just about prefer that Vieira go to Real and be done with. Sacrilege, I know. But if he doesn't want to stay with Arsenal, then I don't really want him on the team. And, if he wanted to stay, I wish he would have just said something already. Of course, not without making Real pay the appropriate price. This 18M BS they're mention is pure crap. I hate games like that. Of course, I'd like it if the EU just bust their asses down for their debt and questionable relation to the government. That'd hilarify me (no, it's not a word . . . but it should be).

Two things about Sol being out: 1) I hope no Arsenal fan ever tries to use this as an excuse if the Gunners falter since few typically ever bring up Manchester United's situation when talking about last year, and 2) I like how the asshole reporters are putting in big, bold prints "Wenger blames England!" when Wenger specifically says that they tried to take care of Campbell. I dislike reporters. Though I'm pretty interested by the fact that Sanderos will now get a full fledge chance.

Sylvain Wiltord: STILL without a team. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.

That's, ummmm, a lot of dough tossed about by Chelsea. Frightening.

[BreizhManu]

Arsenal signed a young French midfielder named Mathieu Flamini. Could anyone who follows the French league give me some kind of idea of what type of player he is and how good he is, please?
Really hard to tell on how good he is, he became a starter for Marseille last season when Anigo took the job, from what I've heard he did a decent job as a Defensive Midfielder replacing Fabio Celestini (Swiss International).
Will probably to Arsenal what Djemba-Djemba was last season : a role player with potential.

[Katon]

I especially like Wenger's 'complaints' about the England medical staff because the head of said staff is Gary Lewin - the Arsenal physio. The man responsible for every single one of Arsenal's key players staying injury-free last season.

The injury was much worse than the medical staff thought in the English camp and if he was treated earlier he would have had a better chance of starting the season. A tendon problem is very difficult to detect unless you do an MRI scan and you can see how bad the damage is. But they didn't do one and that's why we discovered the extent of the damage afterwards.

A harsher slam on a medical team I have rarely heard.

Can you tell the newspapers are bored?

[Chief Rum]

Maybe Campbell actually hurt himself having an affair with an FA secretary! :)

CR

[MIJB#19]

Maybe Campbell actually hurt himself having an affair with an FA secretary! :)

CRImpossible. You can't tell me there was a secretary available to have an affair with after the board members and coaching staff have picked their boys and girls.

[Chief Rum]

Impossible. You can't tell me there was a secretary available to have an affair with after the board members and coaching staff have picked their boys and girls.

Imagine if boys really were involved. Then that story would be even more ridiculously overblown. :)

CR

[MIJB#19]

Imagine if boys really were involved. Then that story would be even more ridiculously overblown. :)

CRI suspect there are no male secretaries at the FA, or else there would have been a scandal surrouding that guy for sure. :)