2006-07 Soccer Thread [Archive] - Page 5 - Front Office Football Central

Icy

05-04-2007, 12:00 PM

I don't think the flares are sneaked into the grounds. It may have changed now, but until recently flares were allowed into stadiums in many European countries.

At least in Spain, when you see a flare in a field, it has for sure been sneaked as it's totally forbidden and you can even end in jail.

We had a huge issue some years ago when a stupid brought in a huge flare, fired it up, it escaped from his hands and crossed the whole field to ended killing a kid that was sitting with his father at the other side of the field. The TV images of the kid with the flare burning inside his chest while the father was trying to get it out of him is something that i won't forget easily.

Since then, if a flare is used in any Spanish soccer field, the guy would end in jail and the stadium closed for a few games for allowing the guy to sneak it inside.

Icy

05-04-2007, 12:00 PM

Oops, double post.

tanglewood

05-04-2007, 11:34 PM

Zing! Good one.

I've read from various BS Arse fans of how lacking in noise Ashburton Grove (having a tough time calling it The Em) has been so far. Hopefully, it picks up as the club as well as the fan base gets more familiar with and comfortable with the new ground.

Otherwise, it'd be damn disappointing.

Highbury was never exactly rocking either. Arsenal crowds just don't make a lot of noise.

bhlloy

05-05-2007, 01:02 AM

We had a huge issue some years ago when a stupid brought in a huge flare, fired it up, it escaped from his hands and crossed the whole field to ended killing a kid that was sitting with his father at the other side of the field. The TV images of the kid with the flare burning inside his chest while the father was trying to get it out of him is something that i won't forget easily.

The same thing happened at the old Arms Park during a Wales game about 10 years ago if I recall correctly. I was nowhere near, but you could still see from the commotion that something really fucked up had happened. The flare went right across the pitch and hit a guy in the neck with his daughter sitting next to him.

One of only two times I have felt physically sick during a sporting event... the other was watching scumbag Swansea City "fans" throw seats, coins and whatever they could get their hands on onto the family section at Ninian Park during a meaningless Auto Windscreens trophy game.

SirFozzie

05-05-2007, 01:42 PM

What a huge Goal from Clint Dempsey, Fulham look to be in the EPL for a nother year.

Critch

05-05-2007, 02:50 PM

Man City's latest thuggery, missed by the referee:

hxxp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj0Msw2Fttk

Seems like most of the worst stuff this season has had City in there somewhere, Thatcher on Mendes, Barton on Mendes, Barton knocking out team-mates in training, Ball today.

Katon

05-05-2007, 06:42 PM

bulletsponge

05-05-2007, 06:51 PM

What a huge Goal from Clint Dempsey, Fulham look to be in the EPL for a nother year.

\o/ Clint

Marc Vaughan

05-05-2007, 07:17 PM

When Joey Barton only barely makes your team's top three moments of thuggery, you know you've had an ugly season. After seeing that I'm glad Ball wound up giving away the winning penalty, even if it did essentially kill any lingering hope Chelsea had of the title.

At least with Barton he has talent, he's just very immature and easily wound up (having a brother in prison for murder probably doesn't help his mellow nature much as it makes him a very easy target - although that doesn't excuse his actions).

I think if Barton had a coach with a firm hand to steer him he could become a very good player indeed personally - but then again I always sign the trouble makers in FM and attempt to 'turn them around' .... I'm just a sucker for punishment me ;)

daedalus

05-05-2007, 07:26 PM

You never know when you might need a play diagrammed.Nice. I had to read it twice ... but nice. :)Agreed! Brilliant!

daedalus

05-05-2007, 07:27 PM

Highbury was never exactly rocking either. Arsenal crowds just don't make a lot of noise.A group of people being whiny do not tend to "rock" stadiums.

What? I'm an Arsenal fan and I read Arsenal boards. I know.

daedalus

05-05-2007, 07:29 PM

At least with Barton he has talent, he's just very immature and easily wound up (having a brother in prison for murder probably doesn't help his mellow nature much as it makes him a very easy target - although that doesn't excuse his actions).He should simply join Liverpool. I mean with Bellamy there, what could ever go wrong?I think if Barton had a coach with a firm hand to steer him he could become a very good player indeed personally - but then again I always sign the trouble makers in FM and attempt to 'turn them around' .... I'm just a sucker for punishment me ;)Arsenal! Arsenal, I say!

Unfortunately, we're pretty well stocked in the middle of the pitch. Still, given his talent, I agree that he'd be a worthwhile signing for most teams.

Critch

05-06-2007, 12:34 PM

Quiet day today, nothing much happened.

Newcastle are reported to be firing Roeder. Championship playoffs set, WBA v Wolves for one local derby, and Southampton v Derby (George Burley's team v his old team).

Oh, and the Arsenal v Chelsea game too :) Did it look to anybody else that Mourinho was saying goodbye before leaving at the end of the season?

MJ4H

05-06-2007, 12:35 PM

Go Wolves

Mac Howard

05-06-2007, 12:45 PM

Seems like most of the worst stuff this season has had City in there somewhere, Thatcher on Mendes, Barton on Mendes, Barton knocking out team-mates in training, Ball today.

Stuart Pearce wasn't nicknamed "psycho" for no reason :)

Critch

05-06-2007, 12:52 PM

Stuart Pearce wasn't nicknamed "psycho" for no reason :)

As the old joke goes Psycho wasn't just his nickname, it was his position :)

Not sure what the FA see in him that they think he should be coach of the Under-21s. Must be cheap, I guess.

cthomer5000

05-06-2007, 09:12 PM

Just got caught up on all the action, i was running a bit behind... wow, tense ass final 20 minutes in Chelsea-Arsenal. I'm happy their finally dead. Congrats to Man U.

cthomer5000

05-06-2007, 11:54 PM

Just caught the highlights show... great play by Dempsey on his goal. The setup was all him, so he thoroughly earned that first goal. Must be pretty sweet to do it at home and likely have it be the goal that will make the difference in keeping them up. Congrats to him.

MylesKnight

05-07-2007, 12:07 PM

Going into liquidation today seems like a smart move for them. They were almost certainly relegated anyway (would have had to score a buttload v Derby County and pray a few other results went their way) but going into liquidation today means the 10 point penalty is applied this season rather than them starting next season in League One on -10 points.

Does anyone have a decent explanation of how the liquidation process works? Thanks!!

moriarty

05-07-2007, 12:21 PM

Does anyone have a decent explanation of how the liquidation process works? Thanks!!

I believe it works like declaring bankruptcy in the US. If so, the company (or team) basically is saying their debts are more than they can pay. They work with someone to come up with a plan to get themselves out of bankruptcy (and the creditors in general agree, since it's better than a complete default). The minor creditors essentially get screwed out of any chance of getting their money back.

For a football club, I would suspect they might be forced to sell some players and potentially have tight wage/salary restrictions for the forseeable future. It could also mean the dismisal of one or more directors.

I'm not familiar with English bankruptcy laws though, so someone from that side of the pond would have to confirm.

edit: I should add there is always the possibilty that the bankruptcy courts could decide it is worth more to sell off all the assets than keep it as a going concern (true liquidation), but that is unlikely to occur here as the potential for revenue generation still exists.

Katon

05-07-2007, 02:34 PM

Just got caught up on all the action, i was running a bit behind... wow, tense ass final 20 minutes in Chelsea-Arsenal. I'm happy their finally dead. Congrats to Man U.

Can't say I'm that upset at the result, honestly If we're going to lose the title, dominating Arsenal for half a game on their pitch while a man down is the way to do it.

Congratulations to Man U; they've played better in the Premiership than we did, they deserve to be champions. Fully earned.

cthomer5000

05-07-2007, 04:10 PM

Charlton - Tottenham Spoliers

Charlton are relegated and Fulham are now officially safe. Spurs scored really early and then the game was very tense for the 2nd half. While it became obvious around the 80th minute that Charlton wouldnt win they still had a lot of opportunities to draw, and Spurs needed the full 3 points a lot. The win wasn't secure until Defoe's late 2nd goal. I was stressed as hell for the 20 minutes preceding that, because Spurs never ever keep a clean sheet. I like Alan Pardew and I like Charlton, so I hope them they bounce right back up.

As for Tottenham this puts them in amazingly good position to qualify for UEFA. They've now bounced up to 6th place with a game in hand over the rest of the UEFA competitors. 2 points out of their last 2 games will officially clinch a top 7 finish. I hope they can take out Blackburn on Thursday and make it officall heading into the weekend.

daedalus

05-07-2007, 10:04 PM

Just saw on Sky Sports about Michael Ball possibly stamping on Cristiano Ronaldo.

If it really happened, I'm impressed as Hell with the kid -- even beyond his amazing performance this year.

1) Apparently, he just got up and kept running at dude until he drew a penalty. Some, for example, JAR folded like a cheap accordian when he was kicked around by the Nevilles. Nice.

2) It takes a LOT to hold your temper in check -- and he has a temper -- and keep yourself in the game. Yeah, yeah, I know. Somebody will invariably say, "he's a professional, he should." Bullshit and you (whoever you may be) fucking know it. He's HUMAN, just like the rest of us. Most of us would have reacted badly (I am damn certain I would have). To have the composure to do what he apparently did (with United's title not completely assured) is nothing short of AMAZING.

With C.Ronaldo apparently growing up and Rooney still being an amazing talent, the future seems amazing for United.

cthomer5000

05-07-2007, 10:47 PM

Video of the Ball-stomping-Ronaldo incident.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=56GVkhE6CVI&feature=RecentlyWatched&page=1&t=t&f=b

flere-imsaho

05-07-2007, 11:01 PM

I continue to be amazed that these guys think they can get away with this in televised matches. Yeah, sure, the ref might not catch it, but the FA surely will.

3ric

05-08-2007, 02:26 PM

Check out this outrageous goal from a Swedish league game yesterday:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltEaUSTiIZQ

moriarty

05-08-2007, 03:05 PM

Check out this outrageous goal from a Swedish league game yesterday:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltEaUSTiIZQ

To be honest, I can't figure out why he did that. Unless his right foot is completely worthless, he had plenty of time to tee up a high percentage shot.

cthomer5000

05-08-2007, 03:07 PM

To be honest, I can't figure out why he did that.

Maybe just for fun. Hell, it's a game and it appears they were already winning easily if the final score was 4-0. I say break out the tricks!

Dunleavy

05-08-2007, 03:34 PM

flere-imsaho

05-08-2007, 03:38 PM

Check out this outrageous goal from a Swedish league game yesterday:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltEaUSTiIZQ

That's good, but this is unreal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk1B2EAFutI&mode=related&search

Fighter of Foo

05-08-2007, 03:43 PM

the Arsenal-Chelsea match was very good, Arsenal again failed to kill off a team and allowed Chelsea to come into the game and get a desreved goal. a draw was fair but i'd much rather seen a winner for either team, now the Chelsea ManU match is meaningless

looks like Wigan will be joining Charlton and Watford, fine by me thats a Rugby city anway

Wigan is AT Sheffield Sunday in the match of the day. A win and they're safe. Both teams were beyond crap last weekend so this will be interesting. A Wigan win and West Ham loss sees the Hammers go down instead.

cthomer5000

05-08-2007, 03:44 PM

I want West Ham to go down. They broke the rules, lied about it, then came clean months later. The FA showed no balls in their handling of it. I hope they end up going down, because they deserve to.

bhlloy

05-08-2007, 04:03 PM

Absolutely. It will be very interesting to see how the Charlton/Wigan lawsuit against the FA goes (if Wigan do end up being the final club relegated) because I don't think the FA have a leg to stand on. There is a clear precedent of having 10 points deducted for financial irregularities and the FA decided to go away from it because they didn't want to decide a relegation battle.

Crapshoot

05-08-2007, 04:47 PM

I don't know - every time the Wigan chairman opens his mouth, I'm thrilled that its his club that look the most likely to go.

Mr. Wednesday

05-08-2007, 04:51 PM

The exact scope of the irregularities hasn't been presented in the coverage that I've seen. What I know is that there was some sort of problem with the ownership of the Tevez and Mascherano contracts, where a third party was involved. What isn't as clear to me is, exactly what were the financial implications? Did West Ham wind up spending less money on them? Would a normal deal have been impossible? What cost, if any, have they experienced in normalizing Tevez's deal (one of the conditions of the current punishment)?

In addition, what precedents are there involving deduction of points? The club obviously hasn't gone into receivership (trigger of an automatic 10 pt deduction).

bhlloy

05-08-2007, 08:09 PM

Chesterfield docked 9 points in 2001 for financial irregularities is the biggest one. Derby were banned from Europe in the 70's and I think there may have been a few more over the years. Way too many examples in European football to mention.

Interestingly, Spurs were docked 12 points in 1994 but had it overturned on appeal. The message certainly appears to be that if you are a big club (being in London and having very passionate and outspoken fans seems to help as well) you can get away with it. I guess that is the way of the world though.

To show how ludicrous no points deducted really is, AFC Wimbledon had three points deducted last season for playing an 18 year old in one game who hadn't told them he had played in the Welsh leagues earlier in the season and was ineligible, and a few years back Middlesborough had 3 points deducted because they had a virus outbreak and couldn't fulfill a fixture, and were relegated as a result.

I am also told that the Premier League rules are very clear as to what should merit points deductions, but I am way too lazy to actually check that out :)

As for what West Ham got out of the deal, they got two world class players who normally would never have even considered going to West Ham. Tevez at the time was the best player in the world looking for a new team and they went to a team at the bottom of the Premiership.

Critch

05-08-2007, 08:29 PM

Anybody who has access to GolTV should keep their eye out (or set the DVR) for a program called Sacachispas that will be repeated on Thursday afternoon. It's a documentary following the players and fans of the Sacachispas, a 4th division Argentinian team from one of the roughest areas of Buenos Aires.

Very well done, the only problem is that it's subtitled and some of the talking is so fast it can sometimes be difficult to keep up. Or maybe I just read slow.

Critch

05-08-2007, 08:40 PM

The exact scope of the irregularities hasn't been presented in the coverage that I've seen. What I know is that there was some sort of problem with the ownership of the Tevez and Mascherano contracts, where a third party was involved. What isn't as clear to me is, exactly what were the financial implications?

From what I've read it's not the financial implications that cause problems, it's that the EPL has specific rules against third parties owning players as it could allow the third party influence over a game for gambling purposes.

It appears that the FA bottled it big time. They thought West Ham would go down anyway so they hoped they could avoid their responsibility and get away with doing nothing. Now it looks like being a big mess, unless Man Utd and Wigan do us all a favor and send West Ham down this weekend.

Mr. Wednesday

05-08-2007, 10:11 PM

As for what West Ham got out of the deal, they got two world class players who normally would never have even considered going to West Ham. Tevez at the time was the best player in the world looking for a new team and they went to a team at the bottom of the Premiership.
West Ham wasn't at the bottom at the time they made the purchases, though... they were coming off a relatively good season. And if the players themselves wouldn't have considered the move, then why did the third parties consent to it?

Mr. Wednesday

05-08-2007, 10:15 PM

From what I've read it's not the financial implications that cause problems, it's that the EPL has specific rules against third parties owning players as it could allow the third party influence over a game for gambling purposes.
I know that they have the rules. The first question is, what do those rules state about punishment? The second question is, assuming that punishment is somewhat discretionary, what are the precedents? The third question is, what are the mitigating and aggravating factors?

The extent to which West Ham benefited from the arrangement is certainly germaine to any question of discretionary punishment.

cthomer5000

05-08-2007, 11:51 PM

1) It cost them MUCH less to acquire the players since they were not full owned by West Ham (not allowed).

2) They knowingly covered up the illegal contract situation.

3) Once Liverpool brought the issue to the league's attention (when acquiring Maschirano), West Ham then pled guilty.

So they broke an explicit league rule, covered it up (new ownership included) and only came clean once they were caught. On top of that, they had to put together an entirely new contract to play Tevez in the game last weekend, and every other club has pointed out that they did so outside the transfer window.

They knowinlgy deceived the league. There is assloads of precedent for point dedecutions or expulsion from competions such as the FA Cup for fielding ineligible players. It's pretty obvious by any measure that Tevez and Maschirano (while with West Ham) were ineligible by FA rules.

What's worse is this opens up a HUGE can of worms for the future. What if Wigan magically shows up with an all-star team from around the world on Sunday, plays them all and wins the game? THe FA has now established that's only worth a fine - so you have absolute incentive to take a 10 million dollar fine and break the rules when the difference between being relegated and keeping yourself is over 100 million dollars for that year.

Mr. Wednesday

05-09-2007, 12:25 AM

The complicating factor is that the FA signed off on the transfers originally, so outside of the broken rule about third-party involvement (and I realize this is a big issue) both players were legitimately registered to play in England. That's why West Ham was allowed to sign a new contract with Tevez, it's similar to Everton signing the transfer of Tim Howard in the spring, as long as the player isn't changing teams alterations in contract terms seem to be kosher outside the transfer window.

If Wigan magically show up with this all-star team, then there are more issues than just the question of contract ownership, and the authority for docking them points would be much more clearly established.

flere-imsaho

05-09-2007, 09:31 AM

and a few years back Middlesborough had 3 points deducted because they had a virus outbreak and couldn't fulfill a fixture, and were relegated as a result.

I agreed with this one, to be honest. If I recall correctly, the fixture in question was one with Blackburn and Middlesborough, due to injuries, illness, and also (not insignificantly) some really bad personnel management, couldn't field a full team. However, and here's the kicker, they neglected to tell Blackburn that they wouldn't be showing up for the game. I think that's worth a 3-point deduction (essentially a forfeit).

But yeah, the whole thing's a bit arbitrary. But that's the FA for you.

Fighter of Foo

05-09-2007, 11:21 AM

The complicating factor is that the FA signed off on the transfers originally

So the FA can't seriously punish West Ham without implicating itself.

The Glorius and Esteemed English FA can NEVER be wrong!!!!

(This is also why McClaren will never be fired unless England fail to qualify for the world cup)

cthomer5000

05-09-2007, 12:55 PM

So the FA can't seriously punish West Ham without implicating itself.

The Glorius and Esteemed English FA can NEVER be wrong!!!!

(This is also why McClaren will never be fired unless England fail to qualify for the world cup)

They didnt actually sign off on the deal originally. As far as I'm aware there was basically a secret 2nd contract with each player that they kept hidden from the FA.

MylesKnight

05-09-2007, 05:17 PM

http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news;_ylt=ApLKOmxBnk7XeuShY_nYnNAmw7YF?slug=westhamfine&prov=st&type=lgns

West Ham won't appeal $11 million Premier League fine

May 9, 2007

LONDON (Ticker) - Struggling West Ham United said Wednesday it will not appeal the record fine of nearly $11 million imposed by the Premier League's independent commission over the signings of Argentine stars Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano.

The penalty followed a two-day hearing at the end of last month, when the commission concluded that the players were partially owned by Media Sports Investment, a company formerly run by Iranian-born businessman Kia Joorabchian. That ran contrary to Premier League rules.

However, the club controversially avoided a points deduction and subsequently has climbed above the three relegation places.

New West Ham chairman Eggert Magnusson was not involved in last summer's signings.

"I think it is now time to draw a line under this matter," he said in a statement. "The fine imposed on us was very significant, but we accept mistakes were made and it is now time to move on.

"Our intention as a club is to be totally focused on Sunday's game (at Manchester United). We know our fate, like every other club, will be decided, where it should be - on the pitch."

West Ham's decision not to appeal is not a surprise, given that the punishment was deemed lenient by their relegation rivals.

With Premiership TV revenue to soar higher than ever when a lucrative new contract kicks in, West Ham can expect to make back the fine several times over if it avoid relegation - which seems likely.

Fulham, Sheffield United, Wigan and already-relegated Charlton have threatened to take legal action against the commission's failure to deduct points.

Mascherano has since signed with Liverpool.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sounds like West Ham United is doing what they can to get this over with and sweep it under the rug. Thoughts?

cthomer5000

05-09-2007, 05:20 PM

Sounds like West Ham United is doing what they can to get this over with and sweep it under the rug. Thoughts?

My thought is that you're exactly right. That's why I hope they go down this weekend.

tanglewood

05-09-2007, 06:29 PM

FYI the current investigation and fine was made against West Ham by the Premier League, not the FA. The FA originally cleared the deal in August and now have nothing to do with it. 3rd party ownership is against Premier League rules, not FA rules necessarily, so it is they who took action against West Ham once the situation of Tevez and Mascherano's contract was made known to them by Liverpool.

Crapshoot

05-09-2007, 06:55 PM

Here's a good summary of what's going on:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/6638575.stm

IMO, West Ham are fine - I don't really think its a big deal at all.

Mr. Wednesday

05-09-2007, 08:07 PM

They didnt actually sign off on the deal originally. As far as I'm aware there was basically a secret 2nd contract with each player that they kept hidden from the FA.

So the FA can't seriously punish West Ham without implicating itself.

Not quite. What I'm getting after is that because Tevez was eligible to play in England and for West Ham from the FA's point of view, so it's a much different thing than the straw man about Wigan showing up with an all-star team.

Here's a good summary of what's going on:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/6638575.stm

IMO, West Ham are fine - I don't really think its a big deal at all.

Based on that article, I don't agree about it not being a big deal.
The Commission concluded that a deduction of points "would normally follow from such a breach of rules".
That looks pretty significant to me.

MylesKnight

05-09-2007, 10:58 PM

From the BBC Sports Article;

In its judgement, the Premier League's Independent Commission said: "This was not only an obvious and deliberate breach of the rules, but a grave breach of trust as to the Premier League and its constituent members.

"In our finding the club has been responsible for dishonesty and deceit."

It sounds like West Ham dishonored the integrity of the sport altogether. When you take into account the financial figures involved, and the fact that if West Ham avoids relegation and thus receives their piece of the Premiership Television Rights Money, it seems as if the punishment is nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

Check out this article on what the new TV Deal is worth for each Club.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=427148&cc=5901

Report reveals promotion is worth £60million

LONDON, May 3 (Reuters) - The seven clubs competing for the remaining promotion slot to the English Premier League are fighting for more than just bragging rights - there is an unprecedented paycheck for the winners, too.

Promotion to the world's most lucrative soccer league will deliver as much as 60 million pounds ($120 million) - including 50 million pounds linked to a new TV deal - accountancy firm Deloitte & Touche said in a report on Thursday, the first published estimate of reaching the top tier.

'The Football League Championship Play-Off Final on 28 May will again represent the biggest financial prize in world football,' the report said.

Birmingham City and Sunderland have already won promotion and locked in their gains. Last year, teams promoted from the Championship, or second division, received 40 million pounds, the accountancy firm said.

Seven second-division clubs are still in the running to win the third promotion place, including Southampton, whose parent company, Leisure Holdings Plc, has said it had received a takeover offer.

Southampton, whose shares soared more than 30 percent after the announcement, has not named the suitor, and any bid is unlikely until after the play-offs, a source familiar with the situation said.

The four teams that will play in the promotion play-offs will be known after this weekend's league games, with the play-off final to be played in the new Wembley stadium on May 28.

'With seven Championship clubs still chasing a place in the play-offs, the final fixtures on Sunday promise drama and tension on the pitch, on the terraces and in the boardroom,' said Paul Rawnsley, director of the Sports Business Group at Deloitte.

Interest in UK soccer clubs from U.S. tycoons has soared over the past two years because of rising ticket, marketing and television revenues.

The Premier League, the largest and most profitable in soccer, has doubled its sales to 2 billion euros ($2.73 billion) in five years, with matches being broadcast in more than 200 countries.

U.S. billionaires George Gillett and Tom Hicks bought Champions League finalists Liverpool earlier this year, while Texas oil magnate Malcolm Glazer bought league leaders Manchester United for 790 million pounds in 2005.

Mr. Wednesday

05-10-2007, 03:01 PM

It sounds like West Ham dishonored the integrity of the sport altogether.
I think that's a slight flight of hyperbole. They flaunted a (somewhat technical*) rule of the league, but it's a league thing only, the FA itself is not involved which automatically (in my eyes) keeps it below the level of "the integrity of the sport".

*I say it's somewhat technical because the issue seems to be that the contracted party had a buy-out option, which for an American sports fan seems pretty usual. As far as I can tell from the previously-linked BBC article, the issue is the combination of the buyout with fact that the contracted parties weren't the players themselves — if I read it right, it would have been OK for Tevez and Mascherano to have a buyout, but it's not OK for an intermediary party that manages them to have a buyout.

ISiddiqui

05-10-2007, 03:33 PM

*I say it's somewhat technical because the issue seems to be that the contracted party had a buy-out option, which for an American sports fan seems pretty usual. As far as I can tell from the previously-linked BBC article, the issue is the combination of the buyout with fact that the contracted parties weren't the players themselves — if I read it right, it would have been OK for Tevez and Mascherano to have a buyout, but it's not OK for an intermediary party that manages them to have a buyout.

I don't think American sports fans would think third parties having buyouts for players is usual or good for the sport. Can you imagine if a basketball player has a contract that allowed Nike to buy out the rest of the deal at some point? Nike wants LeBron James in LA, even though LeBron likes Cleveland (at that moment in time), and unilaterally terminates the deal with a payoff. There would be pandemonum from the fans.

KeyserSoze

05-11-2007, 03:17 AM

Yesterday the Getafe (a suburb of Madrid) beated down the mighty Barcelona 4-0 to reach the final of the "Copa del Rey" (our only cup trophy). Really really shocking

bulletsponge

05-11-2007, 08:06 AM

I don't think American sports fans would think third parties having buyouts for players is usual or good for the sport. Can you imagine if a basketball player has a contract that allowed Nike to buy out the rest of the deal at some point? Nike wants LeBron James in LA, even though LeBron likes Cleveland (at that moment in time), and unilaterally terminates the deal with a payoff. There would be pandemonum from the fans.

if Nike or the League were to force or aggressivly encourage Lebron to leave Clevland for NY or LA i would stop watching all NBA games. granted i only watch Rockets games, but out of respect for all "small markets" ( thats NBA talk for anyone not in sexy cities) i would boycott them.

Critch

05-11-2007, 09:53 AM

Using another US sports analogy, the League has acted like a basketball referee in the last couple of minutes of a game and let the players decide the outcome instead of a call.

When the punishment was announced West Ham were still odds on to be relegated, a points punishment would have finished them off. The fine alone leaves it in the hands of the players. Wigan won't go down (if they do) because of a West Ham contract, they'll go down because they've folded over the last few weeks while West Ham have raised their game, all the whining in the world won't change that.

So basically I don't know what I want. West Ham cheated so I'd like them to go down, but if they manage to get a point at Man Utd then they've earned their place in next years EPL and Wigan have bottled it at the wrong time and earned their place in the Championship without a whining court case.

ISiddiqui

05-11-2007, 10:05 AM

Critch

05-11-2007, 10:20 AM

On the other hand, one of the main reasons West Ham may barely avoid relegation is the play of Tevez recently, one of the players they cheated to get (likely would not be able to afford him without the 3rd party involved).

Yip, you could say that too. It's a mess, the league brought it on themselves by approving Tevez to play despite the widely reported involvement of a third party.

cthomer5000

05-11-2007, 10:47 AM

Mr. Wednesday

05-11-2007, 12:54 PM

On the other hand, one of the main reasons West Ham may barely avoid relegation is the play of Tevez recently, one of the players they cheated to get (likely would not be able to afford him without the 3rd party involved).

They've bought out the offending clause, IIUC. It's open to debate whether they would have been able to get him at the time, but as I understand it the relationship is normal now.

daedalus

05-13-2007, 11:05 AM

Yes, the book says Manchester United lost and Arsenal drew this weekend.

Having watched the Manchester Unitned-West Ham game, Man U played like a champion. From description of the Arsenal game, Arsenal did not earn 3rd place. FUCKING SIGH.

Granted, that was one funky ass lineup Mr Wenger threw out there today. But that's still no excuse in my opinion. You want it, you earn it. Regardless. We didn't.

Critch

05-13-2007, 11:22 AM

I watched the Sheffield United v Wigan game, two bad teams beating the crap out of each other in the rain but still great drama. The last 20 minutes when Wigan were down to 10 men was real backs-to-the-wall action.

Now let the whining and threats of court cases begin.

Still got the playoffs on Setanta to keep the entertainment up. Yesterdays Southampton v Derby and todays Wolves v WBA games have been two great games.

cthomer5000

05-13-2007, 02:57 PM

Bummed that West Ham survived. I watched the Man U - West Ham and Manchester United was the better team, they just didnt capitalize on a number of great opportunites. Some sick saves by Green and one amazing clearance by Benayoun.

Very relieved that Tottenham finished 5th and grabbed a UEFA spot. The UEFA spot was very likely headed into today, but not certain. Finishing 5th really makes this season a complete success to me, i think they can take another step forward next year.

Last year they finished 5th and played 40 total games, being knocked out of the Carling and FA Cup in the first games. This year they played 59 games, going to the Carling semifinals, the FA Cup quarterfinals, and the UEFA Cup quarterfinals. It was a very entertaining season. To do all that and only be slightly worse in the league is a very good sign to me. If they get a little deeper I think they can start challenging for the 4th Champions League spot.

Now they'd better spend an assload on defenders during the summer transfer window. Finishing 5th with just a +3 goal differential is scary!

Marc Vaughan

05-13-2007, 08:59 PM

Bummed that West Ham survived. I watched the Man U - West Ham and Manchester United was the better team, they just didnt capitalize on a number of great opportunites. Some sick saves by Green and one amazing clearance by Benayoun.

I'm the opposite - I'm very happy they survived, its another season in the Premiership for Zamora (who managed a decent return of 11 goals this season - in a team fighting relegation!).

cthomer5000

05-13-2007, 10:24 PM

I'm the opposite - I'm very happy they survived, its another season in the Premiership for Zamora (who managed a decent return of 11 goals this season - in a team fighting relegation!).

On the pitch I like them a whole lot, it's nothing against the players or the style of play. It's purely my stance on the league dealing with the issue. I think they've shown they have no backbone and made a poor decision that could set a poor precedent long-term.

In related news I'm surprised Wigan had it in them. They were dead team walking for the last 5-6 weeks.

Critch

05-14-2007, 06:56 AM

I'm the opposite - I'm very happy they survived, its another season in the Premiership for Zamora (who managed a decent return of 11 goals this season - in a team fighting relegation!).

But Sheffield United has Colin Kazim-Richards, so it's still an ex-Brighton player being relegated :)

I'd have liked to see West Ham go down just to save us the summer of complaining and court case threats, but if West Ham have to stay up then I'm ok with Sheffield United going down. Wigan may be a team with a rich owner and no fans in a rugby league town, but at least they're interesting and you don't cringe whenever their manager opens his mouth.

edit - I just read an article about Zamora where it mentions that West Ham youth academy released Zamora, Fitz Hall, Paul Konchensky and Jlloyd Samuel on the same day. Not a good day for their youth talent spotter.

Critch

05-14-2007, 07:09 AM

Now they'd better spend an assload on defenders during the summer transfer window. Finishing 5th with just a +3 goal differential is scary!

Younes Kaboul in for 7.5mil and Hossam Ghali out would be a good start. Ghali has been hopeless all season, hopefully his shirt throwing tantrum will be the final nail for him.

Just so long as Spurs can hold onto Berbatov next season should be good. Without the slow start they'd have been a good deal closer to challenging for 4th again this year.

Critch

05-14-2007, 07:11 AM

Post count padding double dola 4 teh win.....

Paul Jewell has quit Wigan. If Allardyce is going to Newcastle United, maybe Jewell is lined up for Man City?

cthomer5000

05-14-2007, 08:38 AM

I've found Jewell to be a totally likeable guy, I do hope he remains in the premiership. As far as I'm aware there aren't any actual open jobs right now, but rumors have definitely been swirling around Man City for large parts of the year.

Is Bolton definitely going with Sammy Lee as manager for 07/08?

cthomer5000

05-14-2007, 08:43 AM

Xavier joins Beckham in LA

http://images.skysports.com/images/playerpics06_07/Premiership/Middlesbrough/xavier_hair.jpg

Abel Xavier is to link up with David Beckham after joining LA Galaxy.
The Portuguese defender arrives at Galaxy on a free transfer after leaving Middlesbrough last week.

Xavier left Boro after rejecting the club's offer of a new deal at The Riverside.

Reports over the weekend suggested Newcastle and Sunderland were pondering a move for the former Liverpool and Everton man, but Galaxy hav won the race for his signature.

Xavier has inked an 18-month deal at the MLS outfit and he is expected to link up with Beckham (http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=466629&CPID=8&clid=25&lid=3&title=Xavier+joins+Beckham+in+LA&channel=&#) down the right side of the Galaxy side.

=============

Weird that he was even thinking MLS... I knew he was done at boro... I guess this can only be good for MLS. We also know he's making under 800K for this season and probably next as well, to avoid having to acquire another designated player spot to use on him.

Critch

05-14-2007, 09:08 AM

Xavier is 34 years old and hasn't been a first team regular since he left Everton in 2001, although part of that time he was suspended for failing a drug test. He's a bit of a risky signing, doesnt last long at any club.

Pretty sure his girlfriend is some porn actress, maybe he wanted her near hollywood :)

Fighter of Foo

05-14-2007, 01:06 PM

Critch

05-14-2007, 01:36 PM

Is Bolton definitely going with Sammy Lee as manager for 07/08?

From what I've read, Sammy Lee was promoted from assistant manager to manager, not caretaker. So I think he's in for next season at least.

Wigan have apparently done the same thing, promoted Jewell's assistant Chris Hutchings to be the new manager. One way of ensuring some kind of continuity and not losing him to wherever Jewell ends up.

Mr. Wednesday

05-14-2007, 02:08 PM

Wigan may be a team with a rich owner and no fans in a rugby league town, but at least they're interesting and you don't cringe whenever their manager opens his mouth.
:confused:

What's your standard for cringing whenever their manager opens his mouth?

(Not that it matters going forward, with Jewell out, but still...)

Critch

05-14-2007, 03:49 PM

:confused:

What's your standard for cringing whenever their manager opens his mouth?

(Not that it matters going forward, with Jewell out, but still...)

I didn't mean that Jewell was cringe-worthy. I meant Neil Warnock at Sheffield United, everything he's said for months has been complaining about how other managers are running their teams. As the commentator said during the game, maybe if he'd worried about his own team and let other managers worry about their own, Sheffield United wouldn't have been relegated.

MylesKnight

05-14-2007, 04:28 PM

I've got a question.. Does FSC (Fox Soccer Channel) carry the English Championship League Playoffs?

Derby County vs. Southampton
West Bromwich Albion vs. Wolverhampton

By the way, the Semis are Home-and-Home Aggregate, but the Final is a Single Match. Where does that take place?

This would be some very exciting stuff to see.

tanglewood

05-14-2007, 04:33 PM

The playoff final for all of the leagues are played on three consecutive days at Wembley. Traditionally you have League 2 on Saturday, League 1 on Sunday and then the Championship final on the Monday.

Butter

05-14-2007, 04:33 PM

Setanta has the Championship TV rights.

SirFozzie

05-14-2007, 04:34 PM

MylesKnight

05-14-2007, 04:36 PM

Butter

05-14-2007, 04:40 PM

Birmingham has a good chance of staying up, but cracking the top 10 a la Wigan and Reading is probably out of reach unless they hire a real manager.

Sunderland will go straight back down after getting their every other year payday.

I think Southampton is a decent bet to come back from their 2-1 first leg loss and win their semifinal and win the final. They have a lot of talent that underperformed this season, but is ripe for a good run if they can shake off their inconsistency. I would love to see the South Coast derby return to the EPL (Southampton-Portsmouth).

SirFozzie

05-14-2007, 04:41 PM

Thanks for the info.

A follow up to this would be how do you guys feel the newly promoted teams to the EPL will fare next season?

Sunderland?
Birmingham City?
TBD?

And who do you like getting through the Championship Playoffs for Promotion as well?

I think the odds are that two of the three will yo-yo back down. Sunderland might have a good shot (Keane's been there so long, he knows what needs to be done.

For the third spot? West Brom is my guess right now (What a first leg it was between them and Wolves, 3-2 West Brom lead heading to the 2nd leg at their house)

MylesKnight

05-14-2007, 04:47 PM

Setanta Sports has the lower leagues contract, I've been Tivoing all of the games. Great Atmosphere!

The Final takes place at the newly renovated Wembley Stadium

How popular is Wembley? 53,000 people recently attended the NON-LEAGUE version of the FA Cup final (Called the FA Trophy).. Let's put it this way.. these teams average about 1,000-1,500 per game for their home games.

One of my friends joked "I wonder about the condition of the field for the Playoff Finals and the FA Cup Finals, because there must have been about 20 players shitting a brick about playing in front of 53,000 people at Wembley!"

So let me see if I've got this straight..

- The FA Cup is open to all levels in England and is the most prestigious

- The Football League Cup is open only to the EPL and Football League Clubs (Championship, One & Two Leagues)

- The Football League Trophy is open to only Football League One and Football League Two Teams

- The FA Trophy is open to all levels below the Football League (beginning with the Football Conference National League)

There are a handful of other Tournaments but I believe that I've got all of the biggies.

tanglewood

05-14-2007, 04:52 PM

Yes that is correct. The Football League Trophy currently the rather ridiculously named Johnstone's Paint Trophy is nothing but a nuisance for most clubds and spectators that IMHO should be scrapped. Even the clubs don't generally field full strength teams until the semis and attendance is usually well down on League and other cup matches.

Coder

05-14-2007, 04:58 PM

Not going to repost the entire thing I posted in the Youtube-thread, but check this link out (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showpost.php?p=1463679&postcount=336)

Swedish Premier League isn't much to boast about, but Andres Vasquez goal is suh-weeet! :)

waynegomez

05-14-2007, 06:43 PM

Thanks for the info.

A follow up to this would be how do you guys feel the newly promoted teams to the EPL will fare next season?

Sunderland?
Birmingham City?
TBD?

And who do you like getting through the Championship Playoffs for Promotion as well?

As a Birmingham City supporter, I would say the chances of us staying up depend primarily on how Brucie spends the extra transfer money he's been given by our Chairmanm, Mr. Gold. Signing Fabrice Muamba to a permanent deal was a nice start. Let's see what he does with the rest of the budget. Brucie's transfer selections are definitely a roller coaster ride of hits and misses.

moriarty

05-15-2007, 05:45 PM

SirFozzie

05-15-2007, 10:56 PM

what a game in the 2nd leg. Southampton win 3-2 on the road, but that just makes it 4-4 (and away goals are not used in the English Playoffs), the two teams play 30 scoreless minutes of Extra Time, and it goes to cruel cruel penalties, where a former Derby player misses the final penalty and Derby win 4-3 on penalties (They would have had one more chance to score, Southampton also missed their first PK)

Critch

05-15-2007, 11:06 PM

I kind of like the playoffs now, but I hate teams ending their season by losing on penalty kicks. I'd rather they just put through the team who were highest in the table in the case of a draw after 2 legs. Which tonight would have had the same result as penalties, Derby County through.

On top of it being an ex-Derby player who missed the deciding penalty (and it looked like he was going to miss from the moment he stepped forward), it was an ex-Derby player scoring in the last minute of regular time to get Southampton to extra time and penalties.

Other than the MK Dons v Shrewsbury snooze-fest, every playoff game I've seen has been great.

Tomorrow is a tough choice, WBA v Wolves 2nd leg on Setanta, UEFA Cup final on FSC. Two more weeks of great soccer before a long, boring, non-World Cup summer.

ISiddiqui

05-15-2007, 11:21 PM

There is the MLS.

tanglewood

05-15-2007, 11:43 PM

And more importantly (:p) the Copa America.

Edit: Plus La Liga doesn't end for another month. :eek:

Critch

05-16-2007, 06:47 AM

There is the MLS.

Oops, didn't mean to miss out the MLS. Forgot about it, which is strange since I got my DC United v Houston tickets yesterday.

Critch

05-16-2007, 06:48 AM

And more importantly (:p) the Copa America.

Edit: Plus La Liga doesn't end for another month. :eek:

Under-20 World Cup and the Gold Cup (I think) too. There will still be soccer around, just not the saturation level I've been enjoying for the last couple of weeks.

cthomer5000

05-16-2007, 01:41 PM

Fighter of Foo

05-16-2007, 03:19 PM

La Liga > EPL

Crapshoot

05-16-2007, 03:30 PM

La Liga > EPL

I'm torn on this - my rooting interest is in the EPL, but in terms of trickery and showmanship, La Liga takes the cake. I think the faster pace of the English game precludes a lot of the, slow, patient buildup we see in Spain.

cthomer5000

05-16-2007, 03:38 PM

I prefer EPL, and i think it's just largely because the covereage and presentation we can get here is much better. I'm fully open to becoming a La Liga fan though, as I generally enjoy the games I watch quite a bit. I'll definitely be watching more of it with the EPL season over.

I'm also certain I could be a fan of the Dutch league if we got any real coverage here. THe pace has been generally blinding in any game i've seen and the game even more attacking than EPL.

SirFozzie

05-16-2007, 03:52 PM

It'll be West Brom who face Derby County in the biggest game of the year (Something like $60 million for the winner in TV rights next year), as West Bromwich Albion defeat Wolves 1-0, and 4-2 on aggregate

cthomer5000

05-16-2007, 04:08 PM

If WBA win, it's the first time all 3 relegated teams immediately go back up together.

Fighter of Foo

05-16-2007, 04:14 PM

Yeah in terms of production quality, it's really no contest. The EPL weekly highlights show is awesomely wonderful, but I struggle to get through the GolTV La Liga counterpart. There's defnitely a language and cultural difference too.

I think that difference makes it more rewarding to follow, if that makes any sense. Spain is a very regionalized country, and there's all sorts of built up resentment over the years through both sport and outside events that there's rarely a week where there's not 2-3 really fascinating games going on for whatever reason. Real Madrid visiting Athletic Bilbao carries all sorts of political significance, and that makes it more interesting than the corollary EPL matchup of ManU-Fulham.

Required reading here: http://www.laligaloca.blogspot.com/
and here: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/archive?columnist=12&root=europe&cc=5901

All the Spanish games are played at night, so there's no need to wake up early on the weekend. Lastly, theres loads more south americans in the league, which, generally, contributes to a slower, more technical game as well as wild indiscipline not seen in England outside of Newcastle....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zmg4CXSgdY

I love the EPL, but Spain's the best and you don't need Setanta to watch it all.

/End Rant ;)

Another great final going on today as well...watch the whole thing.

cthomer5000

05-16-2007, 04:27 PM

All the Spanish games are played at night, so there's no need to wake up early on the weekend.

Well, this is a total non-issue to me in a DVR world. I probably watch 10% of the EPL games I watch live. It's awesome that the day's games start just after whenever the hell I wake up. :)

GoldenEagle

05-16-2007, 09:19 PM

You still have an exciting race in La Liga to look forward to. I am not a big Real Madrid fan, but I would like to see them win if Sevilla can not.

There is also the famed silly season to look forward to.It will be interesting to see how Big Sam tears things up. I would love to see Tevez at Newcastle, though I think he will end up at Real Madrid. The Premiership clubs have something like a ridiculous $30mil in TV money to spend. The effect on the transfer market will be interesting.

I have a feeling the FA Cup final will be a bore. I am not planning on plopping down the $25 to watch it.

Critch

05-16-2007, 09:39 PM

I have a feeling the FA Cup final will be a bore. I am not planning on plopping down the $25 to watch it.

I'm with you on that. Not so much that it will be a bore, just that I won't be plopping down $25. $15 I can just about see, but $25 is too much.

I'll be going for the finale to the Bundesliga on GolTV instead. Stuttgart are 2 points ahead of Schalke with one game to go, Stuttgart are at home to Energie Cottbus, Schalke are at home to Armenia Bielefeld. Could have been more exciting if Schalke hadn't pretty much handed the title over to Stuttgart last weekend by losing to Dortmund, now it's all Stuttgart's to lose. Stuttgart are champions if they beat Cottbus, or if they tie and Schalke fail to win by 4 goals (I think).

Both games on GolTV, one after the other. The Schalke game is on tape delay.

cthomer5000

05-17-2007, 04:47 PM

Yeah, i'm not entirely enthused about the FA Cup final. I'm likely watching it with friends though so we can split the PPV cost. There is almost no way this game will end in 90 minutes...

Critch

05-18-2007, 07:55 AM

Setanta Sports has the lower leagues contract, I've been Tivoing all of the games. Great Atmosphere!

Last night's Lincoln v Bristol Rovers game showed that even in the lower divisions you can get good soccer and exciting matches (they both play in the English 4th level).

Some great goals plus some woeful defending added up to 8 goals and it could have been more.

McSweeny

05-18-2007, 09:53 PM

I don't even want to talk about what happened in the Nottingham Forest match today

cthomer5000

05-19-2007, 11:37 PM

FA Cup = teh suck

Chief Rum

05-20-2007, 12:49 AM

So when is the switch over to next season this year? June 18?

Can't wait to see our latest youth crop.

Critch

05-21-2007, 08:51 AM

Stuttgart finally wrapped up the Bundesliga championship, though Schalke jumped them to be top of the table for 8 minutes midway through the first half. Stuttgart fell behind 1-0 to Cottbus while Schalke were 2-0 up v Bielefeld, if it had stayed like that Schalke would have sneaked in as champions but Stuttgart came back to win 2-1.

Werder Bremen must be kicking themselves, at their best they looked the best team in Germany, but inconsistency and too many defeats in games they should have won left them in third.

Only the Spanish league left to crown a champion now.

And not spending $25 on the English Cup Final seems to have been a good decision :)

Butter

05-21-2007, 10:52 AM

So when is the switch over to next season this year? June 18?

Can't wait to see our latest youth crop.

LOL

Ryan S

05-21-2007, 12:28 PM

Stuttgart finally wrapped up the Bundesliga championship

Hamburg SV finished 7th and qualified for the Intertoto Cup after sitting bottom at the winter break. A pretty incredible turnaround.

Mr. Wednesday

05-21-2007, 03:17 PM

Probably a combination of players getting healthy, and the team having been too comfortable with the old coach.

MylesKnight

05-21-2007, 03:18 PM

Stopped by a Barnes & Noble over the weekend (my Girlfriend, a English Major, loves B&N due to the deal they have with Starbucks being in all of their stores now), and came across this book.

Soccer (Football) Against the Enemy, by Simon Kuper.

http://www.amazon.com/Soccer-Against-Enemy-Revolutions-Dictators/dp/1560258780/ref=sr_1_2/002-9219306-7680004?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179778268&sr=1-2

I'm going to swing back by and pick this up in the next week or so, but was wondering if their are any other good reads out there. I've read Joe McGinniss's, The Miracle of Castel di Sangro, and A Season With Verona, written by Tim Parks.

I haven't checked out Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby yet, but hear it is a great one.

All of these books cover specific teams and/or leagues though. Is there anything else out there that covers the sport in general that one of my fellow FOFC'ers would recommend?

Thanks!

ISiddiqui

05-21-2007, 05:27 PM

Soccer Against the Enemy is a great read... Get "Football Against the Enemy" though. In "Soccer...", they replace all references to 'football' with 'soccer', so you get interesting chapters were they reference "American soccer", LOL

"How Soccer Explains the World" by Franklin Foer is a similiar book to "Football Against the Enemy" and I highly recommend it. In fact, I think I like Foer's book over Kuper's, though plenty disagree.

Critch

05-22-2007, 02:03 PM

Fighter of Foo

05-22-2007, 02:10 PM

Scott Parker Deux

GoldenEagle

05-22-2007, 02:14 PM

Crapshoot

05-22-2007, 02:17 PM

Nope - Robben is signing on. Jeez, I'd love him at Liverpool - a left sided midfielder who can actually play?

Critch

05-22-2007, 03:15 PM

Chelsea played 72 games this season. There will be plenty of chances for play. It was obvious at the end of the season Chelsea lacked any real depth. I would imagine you will see a couple of more big signings.

Yeah, he'll get some games, but he'll still be behind Ballack/Lampard/Essien/Mikel on the central midfield list. Won't be a regular starter.

The Chelsea chief exec has said there won't be any big signings this summer, just cover for central defence, a midfielder and a striker. He sad 3 or 4 in and 3 or 4 out. As Mourinho said he wants to stick with his 24 man first team squad, I'd guess Sidwell will be coming in as a direct replacement for Geremi or Makelele.

Surprised they don't have a right back on their want-list.

Marc Vaughan

05-22-2007, 03:20 PM

So Steve Sidwell has decided to leave Reading to sign on free transfer with Chelsea. For the 1 month that Mikel and Essien are away at the African Nations Championship, Sidwell will be important cover, for the rest of the season he'll be lucky to get a place on the bench.

Unless there's a midfielder clearout coming at Chelsea anyway.

Thats shocking imho - another quality homegrown player to be destroyed by sitting on Chelsea's bench .... still haven't forgiven Chelsea for SWP's lack of progress in recent years.

cthomer5000

05-22-2007, 03:22 PM

Chelsea played 72 games this season. There will be plenty of chances for play. It was obvious at the end of the season Chelsea lacked any real depth. I would imagine you will see a couple of more big signings.

Robben may be on his way out as well.

I assume that's including the perseason games? Because I count 64 games (EPL, Community Shield, FA Cup, Carling Cup, Champions League).

edit: Anyway, your point remains. The least a team can play is 40 games (not including preseason friendlies) so the bottom line is there are plenty of games to go around with an extra 20ish games each year from the more successful teams.

MIJB#19

05-22-2007, 03:33 PM

Funny guys. Yesterday Robben reported that he was going to sign a new 5-year contract with Chelsea. :D

Marc Vaughan

05-22-2007, 03:36 PM

edit: Anyway, your point remains. The least a team can play is 40 games (not including preseason friendlies) so the bottom line is there are plenty of games to go around with an extra 20ish games each year from the more successful teams.
But to improve top players have to play regularly imho especially against the best opposition - this is something which Sidwell won't get a chance to do, he'll play against minor teams in the League Cup and the lesser teams in the Premiership when the 'stars' are rested (at best).

The Premiership being a 'strong' league has a definite disadvantage for England in the lack of chances for young english players generally (especially true for Goalkeepers) and Chelsea are worse than most for purchasing promising talents and then letting them rot away on the bench for a few seasons until they're past their 'prime' development years - at which point they return them to circulation now they're no longer a 'threat' to Chelsea.

Its no coincidence imho that in the past both Man City (SWP) and Charlton (Parker) caused Chelsea problems on the pitch and then had their key players poached.

(in Chelsea's defense Reading didn't do as well as either of these teams this year against Chelsea - despite a creditable draw away from home, doesn't stop me from expecting him to miss the majority of matches next season though ..)

Mr. Wednesday

05-22-2007, 04:48 PM

How old is Sidwell, and how long is his contract?

Development-wise, it's an idiotic move, but career-wise he may be laughing all the way to the bank.

cthomer5000

05-22-2007, 04:59 PM

How old is Sidwell, and how long is his contract?

Development-wise, it's an idiotic move, but career-wise he may be laughing all the way to the bank.

He's 24. No word on contract length.

Critch

05-22-2007, 05:11 PM

Something I read mentioned he was offered 25k pounds per week for 4 years at Reading, but he was offered 65k pounds by Chelsea, no mention of contract length.

Ryan S

05-22-2007, 06:30 PM

Something I read mentioned he was offered 25k pounds per week for 4 years at Reading, but he was offered 65k pounds by Chelsea, no mention of contract length.

You can't turn that kind of offer down.

GoldenEagle

05-22-2007, 08:41 PM

I was hoping Robben would end up at Bayen Munich. I would really like to see Munich back on top of the Bundesliga, and Robben would help them get there even if he is a bit fragile for the German league.

I am going to watch the game at a British pub tomorrow with a huge Liverpool supporter. I guess by default I will pull for Pool.

Mr. Wednesday

05-22-2007, 08:48 PM

You can't turn that kind of offer down.
Depends on how long it is and what other teams are offering.

If he's getting another offer that's a lot more than Reading's, but somewhat less than Chelsea, at a club where the midfield is less crowded, he might be better off with it on the theory that he could then really cash in with his next contract.

DaddyTorgo

05-23-2007, 12:13 PM

is the CL final today streaming online anywhere? I want to watch @ work while I make calls.

and i could just go out on the dish that we have in the reception room but then i'd get no work done

RPI-Fan

05-23-2007, 12:19 PM

is the CL final today streaming online anywhere? I want to watch @ work while I make calls.

and i could just go out on the dish that we have in the reception room but then i'd get no work done

$9.95 thru ESPN's website.

Logan

05-23-2007, 12:24 PM

and i could just go out on the dish that we have in the reception room but then i'd get no work done

So what's the problem?

DaddyTorgo

05-23-2007, 12:26 PM

thanks RPI.

i also found hxxp://livefooty.doctor-serv.com/ (http://livefooty.doctor-serv.com/)

there's a feed up there and running right now of ESPN, so i'm optomistic it might be a free alternative, otherwise 9.95 doesn't sound bad

VPI97

05-23-2007, 12:53 PM

I'm taking the afternoon off to watch the game. Heading out in a few minutes :)

DaddyTorgo

05-23-2007, 12:56 PM

I'm taking the afternoon off to watch the game. Heading out in a few minutes :)

oooh...i could do that too...hit a bar or something

muzz81x

05-23-2007, 01:13 PM

Also another page for ESPN

http://www.footballonsat.com/TV/sop-1.php

it is free too...

DaddyTorgo

05-23-2007, 01:16 PM

Also another page for ESPN

http://www.footballonsat.com/TV/sop-1.php

it is free too...

sweetness.

nice 1st post muzz:D

DaddyTorgo

05-23-2007, 01:35 PM

dirk's starting for pool up front alone

st.cronin

05-23-2007, 01:59 PM

Liverpool looking lively.

DaddyTorgo

05-23-2007, 02:32 PM

1-0 Milan in the 44th minute. Inzaghi deflects in a free kick from 22m out

DaddyTorgo

05-23-2007, 02:34 PM

halftime

SirFozzie

05-23-2007, 03:00 PM

BTW, I got all three USA Scarves for the summer tournaments (The Gold Cup, The Copa America and the U20 World Cup)

Copa America:
http://www.yanks-abroad.com/images/store/merch/300/Jk85Dg.jpg

U20 World Cup:
http://www.yanks-abroad.com/images/store/merch/300/G4tm88.jpg

Gold Cup:
http://www.yanks-abroad.com/images/store/merch/300/kU3i71.jpg

st.cronin

05-23-2007, 03:29 PM

Kaka

scooter

05-23-2007, 03:47 PM

I have a few comments about the game:

- Where was this beautiful football that Milan has spent the last two weeks saying that they play? All these comments about Liverpool being a long-ball team and how they play an ugly "English" style. Milan - I was not impressed.

- Is this supposed to be the best refereeing crew in Europe? I don't think they are even the best refereeing crew in Germany. How can you ignore substitutes for that long (for both teams)?

- What was the foreign substance that Kaladze brought in when he was substituted into the game? He gave it to Maldini who I'm assuming gave it to Nesta. Nesta looked like he had labor pains and was starting to get contractions, but miraculously he stayed on to complete the game.

I knew it was going to be hard to live up to the last final between these two teams, but this was disappointing.

st.cronin

05-23-2007, 03:47 PM

Well, I'm not a soccer guy at all, but it seemed to me Liverpool played quite well, except that they just couldn't complete any passes in the "red zone" so to speak.

bhlloy

05-23-2007, 03:56 PM

The referee was shocking, but UEFA always has had a hard on for referees that are whistle happy and call the game to the exact letter of the law rather than referees who actually do a good job managing the game and let's the players play. The number of calls on fair aerial challenges tonight was a joke, and really screwed Liverpool who were trying to get the ball to Kuyt in the air a lot.

It will be interesting to see if any action gets taken against the ref for calling the game 30 seconds early (at least - you are supposed to add in the substitution called after 90 minutes so teams can't take advantage). I may be wrong, but I was under the impression that the referee cannot, under any circumstances call the game before the amount of time the fourth official specifies is up - which is why it is announced as a MINIMUM of x minutes added on.

scooter

05-23-2007, 04:02 PM

You could clearly hear on the ESPN broadcast the official announcement of "at least 3 minutes of extra time". I was shocked as well when the ref blew the whistle after only 2:45. In the end, I'm not sure it would have mattered. I do know for a fact that he should have added at least 2 minutes for the amount of time it took Inzagi to get the 3 feet to the sideline with his ball-to-the-gut injury at the end of regular time. I though Kewell was going to drag him over there himself.

bhlloy

05-23-2007, 04:08 PM

No, of course it wouldn't have mattered. But refs have been demoted for less beforehand. Not a very good time to screw it up in a one goal Champions League final.

Actually, I was pretty disappointed with Liverpool in the final 3 minutes after they scored. They were absolutely exhausted, sure, but they weren't giving it their all IMO. Gerrard mailed in one pass in a decent attacking position allowing Kaka to walk the ball back up the other end. The only one hustling was Reina. Sure it's easy to criticise and soccer players get tired at the end of a game, but there seemed to be a worrying lack of urgency and hustle on their part.

Also a questionable decision to leave Bellamy on the bench. 2-0 down, bringing off Finnan was the right move but not sure about replacing him with another full back? Bellamy would have given a tired and slow Milan defense fits running at them in the last couple of minutes.

Katon

05-23-2007, 04:34 PM

The Premiership being a 'strong' league has a definite disadvantage for England in the lack of chances for young english players generally (especially true for Goalkeepers) and Chelsea are worse than most for purchasing promising talents and then letting them rot away on the bench for a few seasons until they're past their 'prime' development years - at which point they return them to circulation now they're no longer a 'threat' to Chelsea.

Its no coincidence imho that in the past both Man City (SWP) and Charlton (Parker) caused Chelsea problems on the pitch and then had their key players poached.

Couldn't let this pass without defending Chelsea's transfer policy. As regards SWP, anyway. I completely agree with your assessment of the Sidwell transfer (no use to us except during the African Cup of Nations, and won't be an automatic starter even then; I'm not sure what Jose & Kenyon think the point of the signing is), and I suspect that Parker's performance in our 4-2 loss at the Valley right before that transfer window had a lot to do with his signing. Claudio seemed to genuinely have a use for the player, so his getting buried on the bench was more a result of the managerial changeover, but denial was probably part of the logic there.

SWP, on the other hand, was signed for reasons that had nothing to do with what he did against us (which wasn't all that much - we dropped points against them due to a combination of poor attacking & David James being in top form). We were playing a 4-3-3 that year, so needed two wingers on the pitch at all times for our offence to function. Unfortunately, we only had three wingers in our squad. More, Arjen Robben was the most fragile footballer this side of Darren Anderton and Damien Duff had gone nearly comatose at the end of the season from overuse. So we clearly needed another winger, and there was every reason to expect him to get decent playing time. A right winger was much more desireable than a left winger for obvious reasons; given the targets available, SWP was genuinely the best choice regardless of what he did against us or who else might be interested in him. Sadly for him, Robben had a (relatively) healthy season and Joe Cole turned into one of our best players, thus reducing the number of opportunities he got. Also, SWP frankly didn't play very well - he didn't start to look like someone who was actually good enough to wear a Chelsea shirt until halfway through this season, at which point he started to play a bit more regularly. All of which is to say that I think using SWP as an example of Chelsea trapping promising young English talent on the bench is overstating the case quite a bit.

muzz81x

05-23-2007, 05:28 PM

sweetness.

nice 1st post muzz:D

;)

And about Liverpool,they played good but Liverpool really need a football player at the forward!Look at Man U,Chelsea,Milan or Real Madrid forwards and look Liverpool.Liverpool team is good and they fight strong at the field but i think they will be much better if they buy a good forward next year!

GoldenEagle

05-23-2007, 09:16 PM

The guy I was suppose to go to the pub with to watch the game, had to go on a sales call, so I did not get to watch the game. I also did not DVR it since soccertv said it was going to be playing again at 6 local time. I get home, turn the tv on and it Roger "Fat Ass" Clemens pitching in a Rookie League.

henry296

05-23-2007, 09:19 PM

cthomer5000

05-23-2007, 11:31 PM

1. That was a hand ball.

2. Why the hell did Rafa wait so damn long to bring Crouch on? Absurd.

ISiddiqui

05-23-2007, 11:37 PM

1. That was a hand ball.

I don't think it was intentional at all... therefore no hand ball.

flere-imsaho

05-23-2007, 11:54 PM

Dude, it's Pippo Inzaghi... of course it's intentional.

Mr. Wednesday

05-24-2007, 12:08 AM

- Is this supposed to be the best refereeing crew in Europe?
No. Observers who keep an eye on such things and try to prognosticate appointments for big events were very surprised by the selection of this crew. Michel was the odds-on favorite going in, I think.

wbatl1

05-24-2007, 09:01 AM

No. Observers who keep an eye on such things and try to prognosticate appointments for big events were very surprised by the selection of this crew. Michel was the odds-on favorite going in, I think.

BUT, he's the first CONCERT PIANIST to officiate a CL final....that attention to detail must be why he called everything.

cthomer5000

05-24-2007, 09:37 AM

I got to see a pretty entertaining Ireland-Ecuador game at Giants Stadium last night. Solid crowd of 20,000 for a weeknight friendly with next to 0 publicity. Of that 20K, at LEAST 15K were Ecuador supporters. Great turnout for them.

Really good first half, including a fantastic diving header goal by Kevin Doyle of Reading. 1-1 Final, and an enjoyable time. Yesterday was a good day for soccer.

Ajaxab

05-24-2007, 10:47 AM

Yesterday was a good day for soccer.

Except for the fact that a club convicted of corruption won Europe's biggest competition. ;)

I know. The players can't be blamed for what their club's administration did, but it leaves a sour taste in my mouth anyways.

Ajaxab

05-24-2007, 10:49 AM

cthomer5000

05-24-2007, 10:50 AM

Mac Howard

05-24-2007, 10:55 AM

I've just watched two Asian Champions League games with referees from Hong Kong and UAE. All I can say is "be grateful for European referees". Sometimes I wondered if I was watching a game of soccer at all :rolleyes:

Fighter of Foo

05-24-2007, 12:29 PM

Dola

I've watched football for the better part of a decade and I'm still confused about how fouls are judged on headers. Yesterday's game was no exception. Anyone have any enlightenment? Is it the equivalent of the block/charge call in basketball where it usually could go either way?

Yes, sort of.

You're supposed to go straight up in challenging for a ball. Thanks to physics, that's not usually possible. Climbing over the back is usually called against the person not being jumped over, though someone flying in from far away will usually get some leeway if they're trying to avoid doing so. The most common instance is when there's a goal kick and a striker and defender are jostling for position, and whoever ends up behind jumps over the person in front (or tries to).

Fistfulls of jersey are usually easy to spot and called regularly, as is the evil, spiteful bump in the lower back.

Intent plays a part too. It's easy as a ref to just watch a player's eyes; if they're firmly focused on the ball there's almost never an egregious foul. Lastly, ticky-tack fouls are MUCH more commonly called in the midfield as opposed to anywhere else.

Waaaaaaaaaaay too long of an answer.

moriarty

05-24-2007, 12:43 PM

1. That was a hand ball.

2. Why the hell did Rafa wait so damn long to bring Crouch on? Absurd.

1. I can see how the ref let the goal stand. He had his arms in at his side and didn't seem to intentionally swipe at it (although I was screaming handball of course).

2. To be fair, once Crouch came on and Maschereno came off ... Kaka finally was able to get free to setup their second goal. Rafa didn't want to open up the midfield until the last possible moment. He could have taken off Kuyt (but Kuyt did actually score the only goal) but he might have subbed Crouch in for Alonso instead for better effect.

I'm really not sure though why he left Bolo in for as long as he did. He was pretty bad. Bolo's a nice guy, but it says alot about Liverpool's depth that he was starting a champions league final.

Liverpool's problem all season (and yesterday) is they lack a creative scorer. Actually other than Fowler, they lack any natural finishers. But I think they really need a forward who can create goals for himself when the defense packs it in. There's not a lot of Henry's/Drogba's out there, but they desparately need one if their midfield service doesn't improve. I think Bellamy is gone, so it should be interesting to see who comes in.

End of the day though, Liverpool could have won / at least tied had Gerrard come through like he has so often in the past. When he had a 1:1 with the goalkeeper, I would have sworn that was going in the back of the net.

cthomer5000

05-26-2007, 09:59 PM

Beckham is just a crazy difference-maker for Real Madrid right now. Another fantastic game from him.

And he gets a recall to England as well. Not a bad day.

Dunleavy

05-27-2007, 01:21 PM

the crazy season is all ready in full gear, today's rumor have Eto eyeing Liverpol (who apartently have more cash then anyone, for the moment anyhow) and Lampard leaving Chelsea?

Critch

05-27-2007, 05:29 PM

the crazy season is all ready in full gear, today's rumor have Eto eyeing Liverpol (who apartently have more cash then anyone, for the moment anyhow) and Lampard leaving Chelsea?

Rumor is that Lampard and Terry are both upset that they've been offered less salary than Shevchenko. Now it's all down to whether Lampard is playing hardball to force Chelsea to pay him more, or whether he's actually serious. As a sidenote, Lampards significant-other (and mother of his kids) is from Barcelona..

The craziest story of the day is that Newcastle United are going to bit 10mil pounds for Crouch.

AlexB

05-27-2007, 05:49 PM

Why's that crazy? Crouch is Liverpool's best forward, and I'd guess Crouch would move, as Benitez doesn't seem to like him. Plus he has done well with owen a couple of times for England. £10m sounds like a steal.

Unless you meant crazy because Liverpool wouldn't sell for that?

Critch

05-27-2007, 06:04 PM

I meant crazy because Liverpool bought him for 7mil and he's not been a success (he's mainly a novelty late substitute) but this would be selling for a profit, crazy because Newcastle already have Martins and Owen (assuming Owen isnt moving on), and crazy because Newcastle have a poor defence and are talking of spending a lot on a striker.

I also don't agree that Crouch is Liverpool's best striker, Kuyt is a better player, maybe Bellamy too. The main reason Liverpool couldn't compete in the EPL last year was that they didn't have a regular scorer, that's at least partly Crouch's fault.

Katon

05-27-2007, 07:47 PM

I'd blame Liverpool's problems more on their wingers - who vary between inconsistent and just plain bad - than on their forwards. Kuyt, Bellamy, and even Crouch would all make perfectly decent backups for a top-class team. Thad doesn't mean you'd want them as starters, of course, and Liverpool still need to upgrade up front if they want to contend, but it's not their main problem.

Newcastle really are becoming parodies of themselves - spending big on forwards and not doing anything intelligent about their defence has been the plan for how long now? If they're going to spend an eight-digit sum on a striker, then Crouch is a decent enough choice: knows the league, can play with Owen, and offers a real change of pace from their current forwards (and just about every other forward in the league, for that matter).

Ryan S

05-27-2007, 07:58 PM

Lampard leaving Chelsea?

There have been rumors for years linking Lampard to Barcelona.

cthomer5000

05-27-2007, 10:52 PM

I view Crouch as totally underrated. £10 Million seems maybe a tad high, but not unreasonable. The guy had 6 goals in Champions league, with only Kaka doing better. He's got actual skills with the ball at his feet, and obviously his height is a big plus in the box. It would be nice to see him somewhere where he is wanted and would be a regular in the lineup.

In other transfer news Tottenham seem to have heard my pleas. Sounds like Garreth Bale is a done deal for between £5-10 Million. He has a chance to win the starters spot at LB by opening day. They're also linked to what sounds like a done deal for Younes Kaboul from Auxerre. They need a solid 3rd option to Ledley King and Michael Dawson at center back, and it seems like he'll provide it. If they can bring in someone who can fight for time at RB, or at least be an adequate reserve for Chimbonda, i'll be estatic. I thought they needed at least 3 new bodies in the back 4 rotation, and they've got 2 promising additions already. Then they can sweep out some of the trash who are there now (im looking at you, Anthony Gardner).

SirFozzie

05-27-2007, 11:03 PM

Looks like DeMarcus Beasley is going to Rangers next year

ISiddiqui

05-27-2007, 11:06 PM

Newcastle has had two major weaknesses in the past few years, defense and strikers. I don't think 10 millions pounds for Crouch is all that bad an investment. Much was spent on Owen, but he hasn't played all that much for the side. Martins was a great pick up. But who knows if Owen is going to be back much?

Plenty in the kitty after a 10 million pound signing for Crouch (if it goes through).

This past season, for instance, Newcastle was 9th in least Goals Allowed. But they were 13th in Goals Scored.

Critch

05-27-2007, 11:08 PM

Looks like DeMarcus Beasley is going to Rangers next year

Yeah, seems that Rangers will pay PSV a fee to assume the last year of his contract, then use that year to decide whether to offer him an extension.

He'll get his chance on the left at Rangers, not really much competition for that spot at the moment.

Critch

05-27-2007, 11:20 PM

Plenty in the kitty after a 10 million pound signing for Crouch (if it goes through).

You think? Are you basing it on the new guy buying out Freddy Shepherd and pumping in cash, or has there been other talk about money being available?

All I've read so far is Allardyce talking about signing players from outside the UK who are not big names, but who want to prove themselves in the premiership, so that sounded like more of the bargain basement stuff he did at Bolton.

ISiddiqui

05-27-2007, 11:29 PM

You think? Are you basing it on the new guy buying out Freddy Shepherd and pumping in cash, or has there been other talk about money being available?

All I've read so far is Allardyce talking about signing players from outside the UK who are not big names, but who want to prove themselves in the premiership, so that sounded like more of the bargain basement stuff he did at Bolton.

Well the new influx of cash will be nice, but Fat Freddie hasn't been exactly holding onto his wallet of late in recent years either.

And Allardyce will probably continue his bargain basement stuff... that's what he knows best. But he does have money for higher profile signings as well.

Some selling off of midfield players, of which Newcastle has many, may happen as well. Though unfortunately some because of how they were treated by the previous manager (N'Zogbia comes to mind).

bhlloy

05-28-2007, 03:20 AM

If Crouch goes to Newcastle my wife is going to go ballistic. Huge United fan and she despises him with a passion. I don't see Crouch as the type of player Allardyce is interested in though - 1) too much of a circus around him and 2) he has always preferred strong, hold the ball types up front.

As for Bale, great kid and certainly Wales' best player for the next 10-15 years, but I would be worried if he is Spurs' opening day LB when he will be barely 18 years old. Defenders take a bit longer to develop and he's going to get killed going against the likes of Ronaldo. 2 year project I'd say with a view to him being a very good Premiership full-back when that period is up.

Allegedly, Terry wanted a 9 year deal with an option to become Chelsea manager when he retires. Not sure if that is 100% accurate, but if so that's pretty stupid. Terry I think will retire at Chelsea even if they don't give in to his ridiculous demands, but with Lampard I get the feeling they need to pay him or he's gone to Barca. How ironic that Shevchenko was such a bust, Mourino allegedly didn't even want him and now his wages could be the reason the squad breaks apart.

If Liverpool don't get Eto'o, I think Owen is going to Anfield, no matter what Freddy Shepherd says. With all the money that is being pumped in, they could even get both.

I. J. Reilly

05-28-2007, 11:23 AM

Critch

05-28-2007, 01:36 PM

Damn you West Brom. I had happily given up on you mid season, and then you fight back and make me believe in the dream again. Then this? I know that this team would have surely been relegated next year, but those parachute payments and the one year of TV revenue could have gone a long way.

There isn't a worse way to end a season than with a promotion playoff loss at Wembley. I had the misfortune of being at Brighton's playoff loss to get to the Premiership back in the early 90's, after the game there were opposing fans coming up to pass sympathy. They were very sporting, saying hard luck and good luck for the next season, but I still wanted to punch them for stealing the Premier place that was rightfully Brighton's :)

Tough game for West Brom today, they had the skill players and most of the game, but Derby did their normal, well organized, tough to beat act. Rode their luck a bit too.

At least West Brom have the cash in place, a good manager, and a good squad. They'll be back in the hunt next year. Brighton's playoff loss led to a tailspin down the league and financial ruin that they still haven't fully recovered from.

Dunleavy

05-29-2007, 01:24 AM

If Liverpool don't get Eto'o, I think Owen is going to Anfield, no matter what Freddy Shepherd says. With all the money that is being pumped in, they could even get both.

looks like Crouch will be staying http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/6857782

Liverpol are going to be making a ton of changes this summer, Bleamey is favored to go after just one year and even though they're bring in the ukraine guy on a free i expect them to make a run at a Spanish striker in David Villa or Torres

cthomer5000

05-29-2007, 03:46 PM

As for Bale, great kid and certainly Wales' best player for the next 10-15 years, but I would be worried if he is Spurs' opening day LB when he will be barely 18 years old. Defenders take a bit longer to develop and he's going to get killed going against the likes of Ronaldo. 2 year project I'd say with a view to him being a very good Premiership full-back when that period is up.

Have you seen the Spurs LB situation? At the very least it's a much needed 2nd option there, as there is literally no one behind Lee Young-Pyo. If it's an upgrade, that's a definite plus, but no matter what I think their back 4 situation improves with him there.

Tough break for West Brom. I would say they were the better team over the course of the game, but unfortunately you gotta put the ball in the net at some point.

Dunleavy

05-30-2007, 03:17 PM

Henry speculation is on again with Barca reportedly making a huge offer

http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=469273&CPID=8&clid=3&lid=3&title=Gunners+'offered'+Eto'o+bait

and with the ManUtd Bayern Owen Hargrives done, but not even announced yet, both teams are moving on to their next targets w/ManU another winger from Sporting (Ronaldo) in Nani while Bayern have already signed Italian goal scorer Luca Toni for 11m euro's
------------
and before i finished typing ManU have signed Nani AND Anderson (from Porto). wow this is breaking news at the moment
http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=469458&CPID=8&clid=1&lid=4161&title=United+announce+double+deal

Liverpol keeps bringing in kids but bigger moves are near

reportedly Scott Parker to West Ham to replace Nigel Rei-Cooker (destination unknown)
while Big Sam may replace Parker with Joey Barton from Man City who may or may not have a new owner and manager

and Lyon is being torn apart

Crapshoot

05-30-2007, 03:18 PM

Nani is the "next big thing" - I'm really angry about that, since liverpool could use a left-side midfielder. I'm not sure why Man U is signing more wingers - but Keiron Richardson is probably heading out.

Critch

05-30-2007, 03:21 PM

Man Utd have signed Anderson too.

Flashing the cash around.

Guess Nani, Anderson and Hargreaves in is bad news for Richardson, Fletcher and O'shea (in midfield anyway) and probably long term replacements for Giggs and Scholes too.

Critch

05-30-2007, 03:43 PM

Bayern have already signed Italian goal scorer Luca Toni for 11m euro's

Bayern are really throwing the cash around to try and get back in the Bundesliga hunt, despite not even getting Champions League cash this summer. Toni in, they've already signed Marcell Jansen from Gladbach, Ribery rumored to be close to signing too. They're apparently after Ujfalusi, and their interest in Klose is rumored to be still rumbling on. Add all that to van Bommel, Schweinsteiger (if he fully recovers from his illness) and Podolski (if he returns to world cup form) and Bayern must be strong favorites for next season.

And all on GolTV too :)

Big Fo

05-30-2007, 06:13 PM

I think the signings point towards Man United using more of a 4-2-3-1 than a 4-4-2 next season. Something like:

---------Rooney-------
Nani--------------Ronaldo
--------Scholes---------
---Carrick---Hargreaves--

(back four and keeper left unchanged)

Fletcher will get enough games as third choice behind Carrick/Hargreaves, and I suppose Park, Giggs, and Anderson backing up any of the three attacking midfield spots. Richardson is not good enough and will hopefully be sold. O'Shea is a cult hero and will backup both fullbacks.

Now all that remains is will we sign a striker and sell Saha, just sell Saha and stick with Smith/Rossi behind Rooney, or somehow keep Saha even though Ferguson is fed up with his fragility.

I'm surprised by the spending considering the last two summers and the millions of pounds of debt the club is in, but go on Ferguson/Gill, make it a dream summer and land Berbatov or Huntelaar.

cthomer5000

05-30-2007, 06:24 PM

I'm surprised by the spending considering the last two summers and the millions of pounds of debt the club is in, but go on Ferguson/Gill, make it a dream summer and land Berbatov or Huntelaar.

I really don't see Berbatov happening. Tottenham are splashing the cash and showing they have serious aspirations of cracking the top 4. I think we're days away from seeing a Berbatov extension/payraise.

Big Fo

05-30-2007, 07:13 PM

Yeah that was just more me being hopeful than anything, I too doubt Spurs would sell us one of their key players in back-to-back summers, especially one who has only been there for one season. And I think Huntelaar said he wasnt to stay at Ajax after they clinched their CL spot. But I would like someone to replace Saha, he's moody, an inconsistent finisher, and often injured.

I've never seen Anderson play and have only seen Nani a few times. I've seen some good Youtube vids on other forums but yeah, Youtube can make anyone look pretty good. Any of you guys ever seen these guys play?

ISiddiqui

05-30-2007, 09:54 PM

Fat Freddie, SELL DAMN YOU!!!

http://www.worldfootballers.com/footballnews.php/football-home/all/big-money-available-for-newcastle-17975.html

New Newcastle United shareholder Mike Ashley is ready to give manager Sam Allardyce close to £300 million pounds to make the club a European force.

Ashley is hoping to convince current chairman Freddy Shepherd to sell his stake in the club this summer in order for him to pursue his ambition of lifting the club to the top of the game.

The UK businessman is looking for the club to win the Premiership inside the next three years.

:eek: :eek:

*faints*

If Fat Freddie mucks this up, I may kill him myself!

Katon

05-30-2007, 10:14 PM

Mac Howard

05-30-2007, 11:51 PM

I'm sure there'll be some of that formation, but I doubt it'll be the main shape. Rooney's at his best as a support striker able to drop back and get the ball. He can play as a lone striker, but it's not his strongest position. I really don't think Ferguson would put him there as the main option.

I certainly hope he doesn't play Rooney up front. He's not particularly good with his back to goal and you need to have him running at the defence to get the best out of him.

On the other hand, having spend over 50 million pounds on Hargeaves, Anderson and Nani I can't see a striker being bought as well. So that will mean either relying on Saha as front man in the 4-2-3-1 formation with any three from Rooney, Ronaldo, Giggs, Anderson and Nani behind Saha or going to a 4-3-3 formation with the same 3 from 5 and Scholes, Carrick and Hargreaves in the central/defensive midfield.

I wouldn't mind seeing Viduka (on a free, I think) in place of Saha.

Next season just became a lot more interesting :)

cthomer5000

05-31-2007, 12:47 AM

I haven't seen him play a lot, but I've really enjoyed Alan Smith. Seems like a quality part of a duo up front.

(i never saw him pre-horrific leg break)

law90026

05-31-2007, 05:49 AM

Rumour has it Nani stays in Portugal for one more season. Even if he comes in, unless he's absolutely brilliant, I think it's still Giggs and Ronaldo on the wings as the starters, at least for the first half of the season.

Same thing for Anderson, I don't think he's going to be thrown into the starting line-up so soon.

Dunleavy

05-31-2007, 12:27 PM

i'd be real surprised if they let Nani stay a year b4 joining but i could see all three new signings not starting on opening day, but i suspect all three will log plently of minutes at ManU

the most curious signing had to be Anderson. i always thought he was more of a Spanish player then English, more of a 4-3-3 player then 4-4-2 so i wonder how they'll use him. the central midfield and wing is taking care of which is fine b/c he's better in a more advanced role, but can he play an out and out striker or more imperative can he partner with Rooney succesfully. the talk is ManU still need to find a striker but i dont buy, i think they bought Anderson as a striker

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6705251.stm

thats a good article on wages and revenue for football

Mac Howard

05-31-2007, 06:49 PM

At 19 and 20 Ferguson is not going to expect either Anderson or Nani to play 50 plus matches a season particularly as each will need to make the step up to a much more physical environment. Both Giggs and Scholes will give way in the next couple of seasons creating the space for these guys but will still play the majority of matches this coming season. Alex will have the luxury of introducing these kids into the team gradually as their development dictates while giving him the chance to rest the older players.

I've never been impressed with the idea that you have to destroy one team in order to build another. It seems to me that if you can get the timing right you can bring in the new players as the older ones fade. Rooney and Ronaldo are now established and now Nani and Anderson can grow into the team as Giggs and Scholes move out. With Carrick, Hargreaves, Vidic, Evra and even Ferdinand all with many years ahead of them (average age of those five and the four youngsters is 23) I think Alex has the setup for a good few years ahead.

cthomer5000

05-31-2007, 09:54 PM

I wouldn't even expect those guys to see the field that much until the second half of the season. No need for Man U to really rush anything.

Critch

06-01-2007, 07:27 AM

Looks like Claudio Pizarro is going to sign for Chelsea today on a free transfer from Bayern. Not a bad striker, a good backup for Chelsea, he's had clubs all over europe offering him big salaries since he's a free agent, despite the fact he scored 8 goals in 33 league games for Bayern last year and spent half the year on the bench.

Feels like the transfer market has kicked into high gear early this off-season.

Rumors of Boulahrouz going in the opposite direction too, Bayern offering 4mil pounds for him, less than half what Chelsea paid a year ago.

waynegomez

06-01-2007, 09:44 AM

I’m a Birmingham City supporter and I’m hoping you don’t mind me getting in this soccer discussion. Blues signed Stuart Parnaby from <ST1:pMiddlesbrough</ST1:place on a free transfer. He can play either center half or right back. I have mixed feelings on this transfer. On the one hand, we get a player with both Premiership and <ST1:pEurope experience that was being chased by West Ham, Everton and V*lla. Also, can’t argue with the price. The cynic in me thinks why should I get excited for a player who could not break into the <ST1:pMiddlesbrough side on a regular basis?

This appears to be a decent signing but we are going to have to do a lot more to avoid being sent back down.

http://209.85.12.231/1552/168/emo/bluesban.gif

ISiddiqui

06-01-2007, 09:55 AM

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=435500&cc=5901

Ashley surprised Newcastle officials by attending St James' Park in person yesterday to discuss the finer points of his bid to increase the 41.6% shareholding he purchased from Sir John Hall last week.

Ashley is believed to have been negotiating to increase his shareholding to 54%, effectively giving him control of the club, although Financial Dynamics, the public relations company handling Ashley's interest, refused to comment.

For the Love of God, please make this happen! Please, Please, Please!!

Critch

06-01-2007, 10:24 AM

Katon

06-01-2007, 10:41 AM

A bit surprising, but then I've heard Parker's very much a Londoner. Could well be he just really wanted to move back to the capital.

ISiddiqui

06-01-2007, 10:43 AM

And 7 million pounds (which has been reported) is a pretty nice haul

Critch

06-01-2007, 02:00 PM

And 7 million pounds (which has been reported) is a pretty nice haul

Certainly is. 7 million pounds will get you 5 Mascheranos, or 3 Benni McCarthys, or a Luca Toni, or 3/4 of Peter Crouch, or less than half of a Carrick or a Hargreaves.

I've given up trying to understand transfer fees.

Fighter of Foo

06-01-2007, 02:58 PM

Looks like Scott Parker is on his way to West Ham from Newcastle United. Fee has been agreed, just the medical and personal terms to go.

I'm kind of surprised by that, I thought Parker was one of the few Newcastle players that would fit into Allardyce's style of play, and one of the few who's actually consistently good enough.

With Parker's probable move, the Owen rumors and some guy with a girl's name buying 40% of the club, I wonder just how piss poor Newcastle really is right now and just how poorly Fat Freddie has managed the budget.

ISiddiqui

06-01-2007, 05:18 PM

Certainly is. 7 million pounds will get you 5 Mascheranos, or 3 Benni McCarthys, or a Luca Toni, or 3/4 of Peter Crouch, or less than half of a Carrick or a Hargreaves.

I've given up trying to understand transfer fees.

Well, the thought process goes, that Big Sam will try to turn 5.5 mil of that into Joey Barton. Then get Ben Haim and Viduka on free transfers.

Of course if Ashley buys out the club, then Big Sam has a ton of cash to play with (Ashley is saying he is willing to release about 45 million pounds for this transfer period)

ISiddiqui

06-01-2007, 05:28 PM

With Parker's probable move, the Owen rumors and some guy with a girl's name buying 40% of the club, I wonder just how piss poor Newcastle really is right now and just how poorly Fat Freddie has managed the budget.

Uh.. the guy with the "girl's name" (Mike Ashley, btw), has pledged 300 million pounds over 5 years for transfers if he can take over the controlling stake in the club.

So I don't think Parker is necessarily a lack of money move (they would have waited to see if Ashley wins the fight with Shepard if they were desperate to keep him). I just think that Allardyce thinks he can get better value for that money.

Dunleavy

06-01-2007, 08:35 PM

I wouldn't even expect those guys to see the field that much until the second half of the season. No need for Man U to really rush anything.

i'm not sure about that. your talking about guys that having been playing full time in Portugal, United has paid a ton of money for'em, and United dont have a lot of depth. like i said there's a good chance all 3 signings won't start opening day but Nani has to be the 3rd winger at the monent and Anderson, ausmming they are going to turn him into a striker, will give Smith and Saha a run for their money in no time

Rumors of Boulahrouz going in the opposite direction too, Bayern offering 4mil pounds for him, less than half what Chelsea paid a year ago.

and they're still over paying for him

daedalus

06-02-2007, 02:10 AM

I’m a Birmingham City supporter and I’m hoping you don’t mind me getting in this soccer discussion. Blues signed Stuart Parnaby from <st1>:pMiddlesbrough</st1>:place on a free transfer. He can play either center half or right back. I have mixed feelings on this transfer. On the one hand, we get a player with both Premiership and <st1>:pEurope experience that was being chased by West Ham, Everton and V*lla. Also, can’t argue with the price. The cynic in me thinks why should I get excited for a player who could not break into the <st1>:pMiddlesbrough side on a regular basis? </st1></st1>

This appears to be a decent signing but we are going to have to do a lot more to avoid being sent back down.

http://209.85.12.231/1552/168/emo/bluesban.gifBest Bet: Make nice with Le Professor and loan some more kids. :D

That was a nice catch for them to land Muamba.

Critch

06-02-2007, 08:26 AM

Leeds United have gone into liquidation and thus incurred an automatic 10-point penalty, which confirms their relegation from the Championship to League One. A pretty far drop from competing for European trophies just a few years prior.

Dredging this up from a couple of pages ago because I read something yesterday that shows how Leeds got into the financial problems they did.

When they signed Seth Johnson (who was released by Derby yesterday) back in 2001, Johnson and his agent turned up to discuss personal terms with Leeds, before they arrived they agreed between themselves that they would try to negotiate for 20k per week. When they walked into the meeting the Leeds representative offered them 35k as a first offer. Johnson and his agent were stunned at the big offer and looked at each other without saying anything, so the rep said "ok, 45k a week, but we won't go any higher".

So Johnson signed for more than twice the salary he was looking for.

3ric

06-02-2007, 03:15 PM

Craziness in the Denmark-Sweden international qualifying game (European championship 2008) - Sweden takes the lead 0-3, Denmark equalizes 3-3, Sevilla's Poulsen punches an opponent in the 89th minute and is sent off, and a penalty kick is awarded. A Danish supporter runs onto the pitch and throws a punch at the referee, who leaves the pitch and awards the game to Sweden as a 0-3 win - just an insane finish.

MJ4H

06-02-2007, 03:53 PM

awards the game to Sweden as a 0-3 win

what?

Northwood_DK

06-02-2007, 03:56 PM

Great week for Denmark. First our Tour de France winner confesses that he was doped on EPO and now this.

flere-imsaho

06-02-2007, 04:17 PM

LOL! Assuming the match was in Denmark, I think the ref was probably using an actual rule that allows this. Still kinda weak, in my opinion, but there you go.

3ric

06-02-2007, 04:30 PM

" The result will not be confirmed until an investigation by UEFA's disciplinary committee following receipt of the referee and delegate reports, UEFA said on their Web site.
Local media announced somewhat prematurely that Sweden had been awarded the match 3-0, but the outcome cannot be decided until the disciplinary committee have ruled on the matter."

http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldFootballNews/idUKL0257695320070602?feedType=RSS

TredWel

06-02-2007, 06:29 PM

MIJB#19

06-03-2007, 06:04 AM

Sure, UEFA will still have to investigate, but I think it's safe to say Sweden will be rewarded that 3-0 win and Denmark will have to play their next home game in Greece or Portugal. Heck, in this Platini era, I wouldn't even be shocked if Denmark gets booted out of the Euro qualifying tournament. His administration did set a competition booting precedent with the UEFA Cup booting of Feyenoord after the French police thought it was a good idea to let life-time-banned supporters without tickets into a football stadium.

Critch

06-03-2007, 11:12 AM

Well, the thought process goes, that Big Sam will try to turn 5.5 mil of that into Joey Barton. saying he is willing to release about 45 million pounds for this transfer period)

Sky says the Barton to Newcastle deal is done and will be confirmed when the Parker to West Ham deal is complete.

Probably an improvement for Newcastle, as long as they can stop Barton being an asshole on and off the pitch.

Marc Vaughan

06-03-2007, 11:45 AM

Sky says the Barton to Newcastle deal is done and will be confirmed when the Parker to West Ham deal is complete.

Probably an improvement for Newcastle, as long as they can stop Barton being an asshole on and off the pitch.

I think its a very good deal and I think he will now have the right manager to keep him on the straight and narrow .... he's a fantastic player imho and if straightened out a little will really blossom as he matures.

Critch

06-04-2007, 09:00 AM

I've never seen Anderson play and have only seen Nani a few times. I've seen some good Youtube vids on other forums but yeah, Youtube can make anyone look pretty good. Any of you guys ever seen these guys play?

I saw Nani play this weekend in the Belgium v Portugal game, looked good if fairly quiet. So far I'd heard comparisons with Cristiano Ronaldo, but didn't look much like him, less driving runs but more quick passing and awareness of his teammates. Put through a few good passes and also scored a nice goal, although he's helped by the fact the defender that was supposed to close him down suddenly loses interest when he realizes he's got blood flowing from his nose and mouth.

Other than that, Deco was the pick of the Portuguese along with Quaresma, and they still play like thugs and dive a lot.

Critch

06-04-2007, 09:02 AM

Referees can only suspend matches, not forfeit them or declare a result one way or the other. After the ref suspends play due to unsafe conditions, it's up to UEFA to determine what the final result should be.

I've just seen the incident that caused the abandonment of the Denmark v Sweden game, ridiculous that the ref called the game for that with only a couple of minutes to go. Herbert Fandel has always been happier when he's the star, but no way he should have ended the game

AlexB

06-04-2007, 01:35 PM

Titus Shambles is no longer at the soft centre of the Newcastle defence. Wigan apparently didn;t like their last day drama, and are trying to make sure they are relegated well before then next year! Especially given that they're supposedly after Sibierski as well.

Now does Dave Whelan remember why Chris Hutchings was sacked from bradford?

Mr. Wednesday

06-04-2007, 03:45 PM

I've just seen the incident that caused the abandonment of the Denmark v Sweden game, ridiculous that the ref called the game for that with only a couple of minutes to go. Herbert Fandel has always been happier when he's the star, but no way he should have ended the game
Considering the totality of the situation (including that security was nowhere to be seen), as well as the possibility that there is a UEFA guideline to abandon when the ref has been attacked, and also keeping in mind that there were two additional invaders (but it's uncertain whether that's before or after the match was abandoned), I think his actions were perfectly justifiable.

Coder

06-04-2007, 04:12 PM

Considering the totality of the situation (including that security was nowhere to be seen), as well as the possibility that there is a UEFA guideline to abandon when the ref has been attacked, and also keeping in mind that there were two additional invaders (but it's uncertain whether that's before or after the match was abandoned), I think his actions were perfectly justifiable.

There was at least one supporter on the field while the referee was talking to the captains in the dressingroom. I don't think he knew about that one though.

Either way, as a Swede, I can't feel completely happy about this. I would have preferred if Ljungberg could have taken the penalty shot and finished the game that way. I respect the decision the ref made, especially after the additional invasions, but it's a shame that spectators are basically allowed to change the outcome of a game.

daedalus

06-05-2007, 05:45 AM

On the topic of Quaresma, there are some Arse fans who seem to think that he'd make a great addition to the squad. I remember seeing him a few years back and being impressed -- obviously he has improved since, though I have not seen him for a few years.

Based on my admittedly limited memory of his play and various descriptions of him, though, I cannot see Quaresma working out in the Premiership and definitely not for a squad like Arsenal. I cannot argue for or against the case of him versus Hleb but, one of the problem with Hleb is his tendency to hold onto the ball too long which is a BadThing[tm] in the Premiership, in my opinion. My understanding is that Quaresma has the same tendency. I'm not sure how that helps us. In the few highlights I saw, Quaresma seems to cut inside as well which has been a bit of a problem with us.

The one big thing, of course, is Quaresma's willingness to strike the ball toward the general direction of the goalkeeper. Granted, I think Hleb is still young (in spite of looking far too much like William Defoe) and he has pledged to improve that little tendency to try to walk the ball into goal.

Critch

06-05-2007, 07:00 AM

I don't think Quaresma is likely to end up in the EPL, he was a target for Bayern Munich and turned them down as Germany was too cold for a Portuguese player. Sounds like he's angling for a move to Spain, Espanyol were rumored.

Looks like Ribery will be signing with Bayern in the next couple of days, there's a player I thought would end up at Arsenal.

Edit to save a dola - BBC says that Barton to Newcastle isn't a done deal after all, West Ham have met Man City's valuation too. I've got my fingers crossed that he goes to West Ham, Barton + Bowyer in the same team has great comedy potential.

Coffee Warlord

06-06-2007, 09:17 AM

Looks like Barton to Newcastle is a done deal now.

If they manage to get a deal done with Viduka as well, I'm a happy camper. Assuming they hold onto Obafemi Martins and Owen, I like their forwards. Viduka should theoretically pair well with Owen, and Obafemi's not a horrible option to give Viduka a breather here and there.

Now we need a defender or three (didn't I say that last year, too?).

Critch

06-06-2007, 09:32 AM

Now we need a defender or three (didn't I say that last year, too?).

Looks like Newcastle are going to do something about the defense this year too, for a change. Tal Ben Haim is rumored to be following Allardyce from Bolton, and PSG say Newcastle have made an offer for David Rozehnal too. The pair of them in central defence would be an improvement.

Coffee Warlord

06-06-2007, 09:37 AM

Looks like Newcastle are going to do something about the defense this year too, for a change. Tal Ben Haim is rumored to be following Allardyce from Bolton, and PSG say Newcastle have made an offer for David Rozehnal too. The pair of them in central defence would be an improvement.

Hell, a pair of scarecrows would be an improvement in their central defense. :)

I'm moderately intrigued to see what happens if Dyer does wind up playing well for England at right back. I'm not sold on him in defense, but who knows.

Critch

06-06-2007, 09:55 AM

Hell, a pair of scarecrows would be an improvement in their central defense. :)

Too true, but Titus Shambles still found himself an EPL team willing to pay him 40k pounds a week. Every week he's steady for 80 minutes, but those 10 minutes where he gets lost out of position, scores an own goal and/or concedes a penalty really mess him up :)

Rumors that Thierry Henry is having a medical with his new club this morning..... British bookmakers have slashed the odds on his new club being.....Liverpool?! Can't be true, can it? Apparently they were fairly long odds, but have shot in this morning. I'll believe it when it happens, but the rumor is springing up on UK fan sites.

Critch

06-06-2007, 07:37 PM

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=435500&cc=5901

For the Love of God, please make this happen! Please, Please, Please!!

Looks like almost completely good news for Newcastle United fans. Shepherd has reportedly agreed to sell his shares to Ashley, but will stay on as a salaried chairman.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premiership/newcastle/article1896181.ece

ISiddiqui

06-06-2007, 11:51 PM

Not bad at all. Sure Shepard will be a salaried chairman, but Ashley will have his guys around him and will be able to overrule Shepard.

As for central defense, that wasn't the main problem, really. Taylor is a good up and comer and all, but the real issue has been LB and even Carr has become more and more of a liability at RB.

That's not saying that Rozehnal (rumored to have signed for a fee of 5 mil euros) and Ben Haim wouldn't be welcome additions. Just have to realize the LB and RB positions are calling more urgently.

SirFozzie

06-07-2007, 12:56 AM

By the way, the Gold Cup started tonight, Haiti and Guadeloupe played to a 1-1 draw, but in what should be considered an upset, Canada beat Costa Rica 2-1.

Critch

06-07-2007, 06:56 AM

As for central defense, that wasn't the main problem, really. Taylor is a good up and comer and all, but the real issue has been LB and even Carr has become more and more of a liability at RB.

Yeah, Taylor is a good prospect but he's still young and prone to mistakes. He needs to be paired up with a steady, experienced central defender, not Brambles or Moore. Him and Ben Haim with Rozehnal in front of them would be a lot more solid base than Newcastle have seen for a long time.

Coffee Warlord

06-07-2007, 11:01 AM

Newcastle officially signs Viduka. Nice.

Critch

06-07-2007, 01:54 PM

Strange goal from yesterday's European qualifiers. A lesson to not stop playing til the ref blows the whistle:

http://www.dailymotion.com/footygoals/video/x26wte_sweice50

cthomer5000

06-08-2007, 11:35 PM

Went to the Gold Cup doubleheader tonight at Giants stadium. Panama-Honduras and Mexico-Cuba. Panama-Honduras was a surprisingly entertaining first game, Mexico's game ended up being a bit of a letdown by comparisoin. Announced attendance of 20Kish, but there were never that many people there at once because some people came for only 1 of the 2 games and didnt stay for the other. Good stuff overall though.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1304/537126306_12e7889a31.jpg?v=0

Oilers9911

06-09-2007, 09:03 AM

By the way, the Gold Cup started tonight, Haiti and Guadeloupe played to a 1-1 draw, but in what should be considered an upset, Canada beat Costa Rica 2-1.

Yeah, that was a great soccer night on TV up here. Toronto FC played Red Bull New York (lost 2-1) then Canada v Costa Rica was on immediately after and dare I say it, it looked like we had an actual soccer team out on the field. We play Guadaloupe tonight and can book a spot in the quarter-finals with a win. The DeRosario-DeGuzman combo looked dangerous all night against Costa Rica with De Guzman scoring both goals.

Chief Rum

06-09-2007, 02:53 PM

Newcastle officially signs Viduka. Nice.

Not really going to miss him. But of course he goes to Newcastle. They're signing our crap now.

Big Fo

06-09-2007, 02:59 PM

Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Sevilla are all playing simultaneously today, each game at halftime. Messi just scored an outrageous handball goal to bring their game vs. Espanyol to 1-1, Barca would now be top of the league if results stood since Real is losing to Zaragoza. RvN should've just scored right before halftime but the keeper made a nice save on his header. Exciting stuff so far.

USA - T&T starts in one hour as well. Good soccer viewing day. :cool:

DaddyTorgo

06-09-2007, 03:00 PM

and gold cup wise you have guatemala vs. el salvador at halftime right now, and then a algeria vs. Argentina friendly (slaughter) kicking off in a minute before the US vs. TnT game later

ISiddiqui

06-09-2007, 10:33 PM

Not really going to miss him. But of course he goes to Newcastle. They're signing our crap now.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=437171&cc=5901

Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate had been desperate to keep him at the Riverside Stadium after he finished the last campaign as leading scorer on 19 goals.

However, the Teessiders decided not to tie up the Melbourne-born frontman last summer and were forced to play a waiting game as he exercised his right to speak to other clubs during the final six months of his deal.

Southgate was adamant he would not put any pressure on his star striker as Viduka considered his options but, despite personal pleas from the manager, chairman Steve Gibson, chief executive Keith Lamb and team-mate Jonathan Woodgate, the 31-year-old decided his future lay elsewhere.

Keep rationalizing though. We'll make good use of your last year's leading scorer :cool:.