Euro 2008 (Official Man City LOL Thread)

[TakeWarning]

11 seconds...

Hmm...that's not that fast.

[Drop The Baby]

James - yeah I thought about putting Senderos on that list, and Dawson too, I'd say Wes is about the same level as those, although both Philippe and Michael have more room for improvement. Senderos will be bloody awesome in the coming years, you can just see he is gonna be great. How was 'straya?


Yeah it was good cheers mate, nice friendly people and nice weather for winter!!

I did gather that you guys are scared of Monty though!

:chug:


chelsea's fans were a bit weak. not much of a blues crowd was there?


They only sold 12,000 tickets


See?
He's far too advanced for that level, Sven should have had him in his world cup squad, he could have made a real difference in Germany.

And you're basing that on? Had you seen him play till last night? He took four strikers, one of whom was a 17 year old who'd played 22 games with 5 goals

[matt_h]

11 seconds...

Hmm...that's not that fast.
what is your 100m time then?

google search: apparently he ran 10.9s aged 15

[Dead Star]

Its impressive for a world class sprinter to get under 10 seconds.

That is extremely fast.

[Frankie]

Most premier league players can run the 100m in about 11 seconds.

[Lord Abortion]

And you're basing that on? Had you seen him play till last night? He took four strikers, one of whom was a 17 year old who'd played 22 games with 5 goals
I was taking the piss.

[Frankie]

4-0 to Ingerlund, we're murdering the European champions here.

Oh and lo and behold Downing has 3 assissts :p

[Lord Abortion]

Hahah, you said ***

second half is crap though.

Hargreaves for United?

[Frankie]

Yeah 13m 'parently. Bit pricey I think.

[Dead Star]

Hargreaves is actually a pretty decent player now.

£13m is way too much though.

[Minus The Flair]

I heard 30 mil and almost died. Obviously 13mil then, if United by him then they've been taken for a ride this this transfer season. Selling Ruud for 12, and buying Carrick for 18 and now, maybe, Hargreaves for 13. Oh well, great result for England. Shame about second half, but still decent. Mclaren > Eriksson. Obviously

[Britney Diva]

I fully expect Fergie to offer to buy Theo Walcott for 80 billion pounds.

[Lord Abortion]

And Emile Heskey for 8 million.

Oh no, wait, Liverpool did that...

[ChodaBoy]

Then Wigan paid £5million for him :lol:

[Lord Abortion]

Birmingham paid more than that.

Even worse, remember England started him. Every game?

[badtaste]

"On a night of new beginnings at Old Trafford, John Terry marked the opening match of his reign as England captain with the first goal, with Chelsea team-mate Frank Lampard and Peter Crouch (twice) also scoring. "

Things are looking good for England now that Becks is gone. Believe Hargreaves was man of the match (now no 7, ha).

Netherlands beat Ireland 4-0 with Huntelaar scoring two on debut. Robben and Van Persie were the other scorers.

Other games

Ukraine 6 Azerbaijan 0
Morocco 1 Burkina Faso 0
Russia 1 Latvia 0
Finland 1 Northern Ireland 2
Romania 2 Cyprus 0
Belarus 3 Andorra 0
Denmark 2 Poland 0
Ivory Coast 0 Senegal 1
Luxembourg 0 Turkey 1
Norway 1 Brazil 1
Czech Republic 1 Serbia 3
Liechtenstein 0 Switzerland 3
Austria 1 Hungary 2 Final
Germany 3 Sweden 0
Italy 0 Croatia 2
Bosnia-Herzegovin 1 France 2
Venezuela 0 Honduras 0
Chile 1 Colombia 2

[Britney Diva]

Yeah, we lost 4-0, at home. I didn't see the match (stranded in the USA :o) but we had 8 first-teamers missing, including Keane and Duff. Van Basten said "we weren't expecting it to be this easy." I'm not so worried about the upcoming qualifiers (Germany away in 16 days), but it does show our reserves aren't up to a whole lot. Plus the Czechs were hammered by Serbia, so :D

Edit: Northern Ireland won! :eek:

[matt_h]

really pleased with the england first half, although it wasnt much of a challenge. system appeared to work, but how will joe cole affect it. i thought defoe was too quite and downing didnt get enough crosses in, although he did end up with two assists. the change of formation second half was to svenish though and we were cramped. the second half performance needs to improve, even though it is still preseason.

Peter Crouch scored with a downwards header into the top corner

gave me a chuckle!:)

[lewthedrummer]

Cant wait till saturday. Man U will start of the season poorly because Rooney and Scoles are out!

[Drop The Baby]

The pleasing thing about England last night was the clear lack of aimless long balls.

[TakeWarning]

what is your 100m time then?

google search: apparently he ran 10.9s aged 15

I've only been timed once in the past 2 years but I got 11.17 seconds.

But 10.9 is pretty fast for a 15 year old.

[matt_h]

****, I would be very lucky to get under 13s and i used to be one of the fastest in my year (before sixth form though)

[ZaaR]

italy's unbeaten streak finally comes to an end.

[Cecillianne]

so the season finally starts. half time at sheffield and liverpool.

liverpool's looking poor. i nearly had a ****ing heart attack when SHU put a goal in, didn't catch that it was offside. they better start looking alive soon, i thought it was going to be a stroll in the park for them.

edit: 1 - 1. the world is officially ending. it was a dodgy penalty too, ffs.

[Lord Abortion]

The Reading game looks like a right cracker.

Damn lucky West Ham fans, getting the Hammerettes at Half-time:(

[Drop The Baby]

arsenal absolutely battered villa today, gave away a really soft goal.

Walcott looked amazing, no exaggeration at all

[Minus The Flair]

I thought it was 1-1. Are you joking? I didn't see the match so I wouldn't get the sarcasm

[Lord Abortion]

Reading beating Boro was pretty unexpected.

I was disappointed when Silva scored, I would have bust a rib if the Arsewipes had lost their first game at the Ejaculates stadium.

[rik]

Woah, Campo's goal for Bolton was pretty spectacular.

[Frankie]

Liverpool held, tottenham got beat and wors of all Boro get beat. FFS sort it out Southy.

[munky_magik]

Rangers 2 - 0 Hearts

:)

[Dead Star]

Hibernian 3 - 1 Motherwell

:(

[Lord Abortion]

Just watched MOTD.

Funny how Andy Johnson's goal gets crapper every time you see it.

1. " That was a really class strike!"
2. "oh, it came off the defender"
3. "oh, It came off the defender, and the keeper pretty much palmed it into his own net"

[Minus The Flair]

Yeah, I've missed MOTD, with the old crew. That Johnson goal looked amazing when I first saw it but it was a scuff deflected, big time. And how unlucky were Watford. Should of had a penalty for handball, had a penalty against them for handball which clearly wasnt handball, causing a goal, and a lucky, deflected goal.

[Minus The Flair]

Edit: And congrats to Teddy on being the oldest outfield player in the history of the Premiership. 40 years old and cant remember days.

Ok well that edit went wrong, turned out to be a new post. But Teddy deserves his own post

[Lord Abortion]

Yeah, he does, one of the true greats.
I'm proud that he played for us.

And Watford were bloody unlucky.

[Lord Abortion]

Was it just me when I saw the headline "Rooney in threat to FA over ban" Thought he'd threatened to come round their houses and kick them in if they don't unban him?

[Drop The Baby]

I thought it was 1-1. Are you joking? I didn't see the match so I wouldn't get the sarcasm

As in the result didn't reflect the match.

Arsenal had 18 corners to Villa's one for example. Still, if you don't take your chances....

[RandyfromPennywise]

The pleasing thing about England last night was the clear lack of aimless long balls.
Best comment I've heard from an England fan in many a year. And I'm not scared of Monty!

Australia have qualified for the Asian Cup next year by beating Kuwait 2-0 in front of nearly 40k fans on Wednesday night. The team was completely home-based players so it's a bloody good effort I say.

England did look good by the way, Gerrard was phenomenal for my money.

I'd be well funny if Man U bought Owen Hargreaves. Then their centre-midfield would be Carrick and Hargreaves. Not too bad really, but quite funny when you consider Chelsea's is Lampard, Ballack, Essien and Makélélé, and the Scouse's is Alonso, Sissoko and Gerrard. It's like Man U are not even aiming for the top players anymore. Well I guess it's not even 'like' that, it is that. Probably because they know that either all the good players are either already at Chelsea or wouldn't be able to be bought because of the money of Chelsea. Vamos Chelsea.

:)

NB. Prem was well unpredictable last night in'it. Where was Baroš for the Villans? Good too see Mellberg score, I always thought he was a good defender, no-nonsense Scando hard-man. Walcott did actually look very impressive, quick (obviously) but bigger than that for me was his calmness on the ball and ability to keep possession and not play any stupid balls. He'll be class. And Cesc is just phenomenal for a 19-year-old, he could well go on to be the best midfielder of his era you know.

[RandyfromPennywise]

Mmmm, surprised none of you United fans have posted. Decent display then, weren't it. But, anything you can do...

On the Chelsea game: I thought Bridge was excellent at left-back, showed real quality going forward and a great assist too. Essien was immense, again, in midfield, he's really coming on. The Bison indeed. Lamps was solid as usual, getting in to good positions. Wright-Phillips was awful all around. Sheva's movement was good and he worked back very well too. Drogs worked hard like always and took his goal well. Solid team performance.

On United: Ronaldo was awesome, in everything, the Roon was great and Scholsey was also at the heart of almost everything. A very impressive return for the Ginger Prince. Things not looking so bad at the Theatre of Screams.

[Frankie]

Randy wher the hell do you get all of those footballing puns ??

[RandyfromPennywise]

Randy wher the hell do you get all of those footballing puns ??
Haha you mean Theatre of Screams? Can't remember where I saw that one, but I liked it so I remembered it. Mostly anything against the Arse, Manure or Pool Scum I'll remember and pull out when required lol.

And we've got some unifinished business up at the Riverside in midweek!!!

[Frankie]

By which you mean that the Yak is gonna embarass your defence then yes I think we do have some unfinished business :p

[RandyfromPennywise]

By which you mean that the Yak is gonna embarass your defence then yes I think we do have some unfinished business :p
:upset: Shevchenko will score, I can almost guarantee it. Essien will run amok and JT will have the Yak for breakfast. Get in.

[Minus The Flair]

It looks like United that are the only team really capable of challenging Chelsea for the title this year. And we will. And we'll win it. Roo and Ronny are obviously fine. More than fine

Obviously, this is just the first match but I think it's ok for me to believe we can win it.

[matt_h]

it is only the first match, liverpool, spurs, arsenal and blackburn all failed to win and they are widely predicted to be the top 6 with man u and chelsea. the promoted teams caused some surprises but will get found out sooner or later

[RandyfromPennywise]

It looks like United that are the only team really capable of challenging Chelsea for the title this year. And we will. And we'll win it. Roo and Ronny are obviously fine. More than fine

Obviously, this is just the first match but I think it's ok for me to believe we can win it.
Yeah it is perfectly fine to have faith in your team. Just like I have faith that Australia will win the next World Cup.

:)

[munky_magik]

From the looks of the highlights on MOTD2 United looked pretty fantastic. Hopefully they can keep up the consistency this season.

Chelsea are looking pretty good too.

[TakeWarning]

Dissapointing from Spurs. If Reading can come back from 2-0 at half time, surely Spurs should be able to, since we're arguably a better team. I hope Tuesday's clash with Sheffield United goes a little better.

Randy: Does the name Peter Feeley ring a bell?

[Minus The Flair]

hahaha, Hargreaves' manager sounds like his dad and he's getting a telling off.

'Hoeness is adamant the Canadian-born midfielder will not be leaving the club during the summer and has warned Hargreaves to accept the decision or face the consequences.'

"I would advise him to keep his mouth shut now or else I will get really angry and that won't be very good for him," Hoeness fumed.'

http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=411302&CPID=22&clid=156&lid=2&title=Hoeness+hits+out+at+Hargreaves

Whilst it's funny, it's not funny because it keeps looking more and more unlikely we'll get him

And I see Chelsea have signed someone called 'Khalid the Cannibal'. Oooohhhh, scary

[RandyfromPennywise]

Dissapointing from Spurs. If Reading can come back from 2-0 at half time, surely Spurs should be able to, since we're arguably a better team. I hope Tuesday's clash with Sheffield United goes a little better.

Randy: Does the name Peter Feeley ring a bell?
No, it doesn't. Why?

And yeah it's Khalid Boulahrouz from Hamburg. £8.5m is the figure being thrown around. He's a central defender but can play left or right full-back as well. Seems to spell the end for Gallas. It's a decent signing as long as he doesn't take Bridge's spot! Good, versatile player for cover. Could well facilitate Huth leaving as well.

[Frankie]

Which is good news as we need another centre half. I heard it was only £6m for Boulahrouz.

[Minus The Flair]

He's called 'the cannibal' why?

[Frankie]

He's called 'the cannibal' why?
I dunno maybe hes violent tough tackling player the sort england and germany are famous for producing.

Or maybe he just does eat people I'm not sure.

[Minus The Flair]

I hope he eats people

[Pinhead13]

:eek:

:lol:

http://sports.netscape.com/viewstory/2006/08/04/report-man-trademarks-zidane-head-butt/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fslam.canoe.ca%2FSlam%2FSoccer%2F 2006%2F08%2F03%2F1717144-ap.html&frame=true

Report: Man trademarks Zidane head-butt


BEIJING (AP) - A Chinese man has registered an image of French captain Zinedine Zidane's infamous head-butt in last month's World Cup final as his trademark, a local newspaper reported Thursday.

Zhao Xiaokai, a general manager of a public relations firm specializing in sports, is now considering selling the rights to the black-white silhouette, which depicts the soccer star ramming his head into the chest of Italy defender Marco Materazzi during the July 9 final, the Beijing Daily said.

Zhao paid 2,000 yuan ($282 Cdn) to register the trademark for clothing, shoes, hats and beer products, and has invited bids of one million yuan ($141,000 Cdn) for the rights, the report said.

"Two days after the World Cup ended, I started thinking about trying to trademark the image," Zhao was quoted as saying. "This image is highly recognizable. But by using silhouettes, I can avoid infringing on the soccer star's image rights."

Zhao's enterprise is the latest in a string of attempts to cash in on the soccer star's infamous play. A song parodying the head-butt is now on top of French music charts.

The foul - which drew Zidane a red card in overtime and later a fine and a three-game ban, although he is retired - has also become the subject of Internet jokes, online games and parody videos.

[TakeWarning]

No, it doesn't. Why?
I was just curious as to whether you'd heard of him, he's an old Chelsea player.

[RandyfromPennywise]

I was just curious as to whether you'd heard of him, he's an old Chelsea player.
Feeley: 1970 to '73, 5 games, 4 starts and 2 goals. Interesting record. Five appearances in three or four seasons, yet a 1:2 of goals to starts. But yeah, that is way before my time, I was -12 years old in his last season! Never heard that name mentioned though, not in any Chelsea stuff I've read or heard. How are you familiar with 'im?

Boulahrouz is called the cannibal because of his tackling style. I have the impression he will be a bit like Heinze. When I saw Boulahrouz at the WC and in Dutch internationals he has never really stood out but then again attackers always grab the eye more if you aren't familiar with players.

EDIT: In the middle of watching Football Factory right now.

[Frankie]

Hahaha you'll like the bit with the scousers.

[Lord Abortion]

Ali is right, we did look pretty fantastic on Sunday, But we do need a couple of new players. A centre forward, is needed, however good Saha looks, as injuries will leave us short if we don't buy someone.
Hargreaves looks less and less likely to arrive, I'm afraid.

[Frankie]

Bayern have threatend to involve FIFA over Man Utd pursuing Hargreaves.

[Lord Abortion]

They can suck my massive hairy balls.

[Minus The Flair]

Yeh, they can suck Lord's massive hairy balls. I do hope we get him

[Lord Abortion]

I can't believe my reaction is so different now...before the world cup...

1. Bayern would be lucky to be able to command £5m for him
2. If United had been interested I would have personally written a letter to Sir Alex pleading with him not to ruin our side with him.

[Minus The Flair]

He should get a medal for putting up with so much **** over the years from England fans

[Lord Abortion]

He should get a medal for putting up with so much **** over the years from England fans
I mean, the world cup was a great way for him to show his worth, and he did very well, and was probably England's best player.
Now we actually know what he's about, the next step, if Bayern weren't being so damn stubborn, would be to cement his place in the England team by moving to United.

[Frankie]

It's his own fault really, hes recently signed an extension on his contract.

[Britney Diva]

I mean, the world cup was a great way for him to show his worth, and he did very well, and was probably England's best player.
Only because so many others were disappointing. He's an average player.

[RCVA]

Ledly King is a better holding midfielder. So is Carrick.

Hargreaves has been playing well though. I remember when you were offering £15 million+ you would be buying a legendary player.

Funny how times change.

[RCVA]

Oh yeah.

Liverpool were shaky in defence yesterday. Gerrard was decent though even after a stomach upset the day before.

[Minus The Flair]

Well let's hope Middlesborough do what they did last season today. The likeliness of that though is about as likely as Villa winning the Premiership.

And United should win comfortably 3-0 today against Charlton, even without Scholes or Rooney

[TakeWarning]

Feeley: 1970 to '73, 5 games, 4 starts and 2 goals. Interesting record. Five appearances in three or four seasons, yet a 1:2 of goals to starts. But yeah, that is way before my time, I was -12 years old in his last season! Never heard that name mentioned though, not in any Chelsea stuff I've read or heard. How are you familiar with 'im?



I'm friends with his son.

And Owen Hargreaves wasn't that great at the World Cup, I still don't think he's worth whatever Man U will pay for him.

[matt_h]

england were poor generally, but hargreaves did his job. the problem before was the sven brought him on as a sub when england needed goals and it just led to us losing.

[Minus The Flair]

I don't think anyone really should judge Hargreaves unless they frequently watch the Bundesliga. I sure don't.

[Minus The Flair]

And anyway, Tevez wants to leave Corinthians. United should follow up on that. Get lost Chelsea, you just got Schevchenko

http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=411696&CPID=103&clid=8&lid=2&title=Tevez+goes+on+strike

[munky_magik]

"Third Division amateurs Queen's Park stunned top-flight Aberdeen with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win at Firhill in the CIS Insurance Cup second round." :lol:

And the stupid Ref has ruined Hearts' Champions Leagues hopes :mad:

WTF?!?!?! Now a penalty for AEK?? Argh!!

[Dead Star]

"Third Division amateurs Queen's Park stunned top-flight Aberdeen with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win at Firhill in the CIS Insurance Cup second round." :lol:

And the stupid Ref has ruined Hearts' Champions Leagues hopes :mad:

WTF?!?!?! Now a penalty for AEK?? Argh!!

Queens Park for lyfe

Motherwell got through :D

Hearts just sank :(

[Minus The Flair]

We win 3-0, Solskjaer ends a terrible 3 year goal drought and Chelsea lose AGAIN to Middlesborough. Life is sweet. I couldn't be happier for Solskjaer

[Frankie]

I couldn't be happier in general :D:D:D. What a game Pogatetz had, and Drogba's dive :lol:

[Dead Star]

Boro won yay.

I like Boro.

[Minus The Flair]

I like Boro too. Because they beat Chelsea. Twice

And I realized aswell, Man U killed Charlton 3-0 even though they didn't have Rooney, Scholes or Neville. Things are looking good

[poorquality]

I like Boro too. Because they beat Chelsea. Twice

And I realized aswell, Man U killed Charlton 3-0 even though they didn't have Rooney, Scholes or Neville. Things are looking good


Well after we scored we played better, but before that some of our defending was terrible they could of easily got one or two...well happy we won it 3-0 though and that Chelsea lost, I was happy when I saw 1-1 then a mate told me the final score :D

[RandyfromPennywise]

We got the Rovers - Everton game from Ewood Park so I didn't get to see the Chelsea match, got the Arsenal qualifier to watch as well. So Chelsea lost. ****ing disgrace, all due respect to the Boro. I told you Sheva would score though didn't I Mr Amsterdam. I heard Davies' tackle on Drogba was very bad and got nothing, not even a free...?

****ing Boro.

[Minus The Flair]

That was absolutely nothing compared to what Thatcher from Man City did to Pedro Mendes. He was sent to hospital, Thatcher ran at him as fast as he could and elbowed him in the head. Thatcher only got a yellow!

And Drogba was pretty bad aswell, he was sent off the pitch for an injury or something, then ran back on and stole the ball when it came near him, hahaha he got a yellow.

[TakeWarning]

Roflmao at Chelsea losing to Boro, I heard Drogba's behaviour was poor throughout the game.

And why the hell doesn't anyone want to buy Tevez? He's a great player, way too good to play at Corinthians.

[matt_h]

Drogba was late coming on for the second half and just walked onto the pitch and deservedly got a yellow

I am not sure what formation Chelsea were playing, but i dont think it suited them. dont know who this Kalou bloke is but he should have scored early on

[Minus The Flair]

Every time I see that Thatcher elbow it looks worse. Worse than Zidane's headbutt but nowhere near as iconic. Nothing will be

[Lord Abortion]

Please please buy Tevez, I'll actually sacrifice my dignity and beg Sir Alex on my knees to buy him.

We looked excellent again last night, Ronaldo is on superb form, and we hit the woodwork three times!
Well done Boro, The cheque is in the post.

[Drop The Baby]

And why the hell doesn't anyone want to buy Tevez? He's a great player, way too good to play at Corinthians.

I'd imagine Corinthians are trying to price him out of the market, especially when AC Milan are reported to be bidding an astonishing £15million for Ronaldo.


Well played Boro!!


Theo Walcott was superb again last night, he just looks so sharp when he picks up the ball.

[Frankie]

Pedro Mendes has a concussion I think from Ben Thatcher nearly beheading him.

[Minus The Flair]

If Rooney gets a 3 match ban for barely touching someone with no intent, Thatcher should get banned for the rest of this year or something

[Lord Abortion]

Yes, Rooney and Scholes' bans are disgraceful, the whole concept of being banned for real matches for a red card in a friendly is ludicrous, never mind three matches for little or no foul.

I'm using my laptop aswell as my computer atm, so I can play FM06 aswell as talk to my girlfriend on msn, go on MX and listen to Motorhead all at once:D

[Lord Abortion]

Champs league draw is out.

United have a decent draw, Chelsea have Barcelona Again(hahahahahahaha) and The Arseholes have a piss easy one, so do Liverpool.

Group A
BARCELONA
Chelsea
Werder Bremen
Levski Sofia

Group B
INTER MILAN
Bayern Munich
Sporting Lisbon
Spartak Moscow

Group C
LIVERPOOL
PSV Eindhoven
Bordeaux
Galatasaray

Group D
VALENCIA
Roma
Olympiakos
Shakhtar Donetsk

Group E
REAL MADRID
Lyon
Steaua Bucharest
Dynamo Kiev

Group F
MANCHESTER UNITED
Celtic
Benfica
FC Copenhagen

Group G
ARSENAL
Porto
CSKA Moscow
Hamburg

Group H
AC MILAN
Lille
AEK Athens
Anderlecht

[ChodaBoy]

Non of those groups have it harder than the others.

I hope the FA suspend Thatcher for a long time, it would give City a reason to offload him sooner rather than later. Hes never done anything useful, and is constantly making vicious tackles.

[Lord Abortion]

Well, I, for example would rather be playing Bordeaux and PSV than Celtic and Benfica, but that's just me, I'm crazy like that.

[Ganondorf]

Looking frward to United vs Celtic, Chelsea vs Barca is soooo fixed.

[Minus The Flair]

I'd rather be playing Benfica and Celtic than Barca and Werder Bremen.

If only Keane stayed for one last season at Celtic

[Lord Abortion]

I'd rather be playing Benfica and Celtic than Barca and Werder Bremen.

If only Keane stayed for one last season at Celtic
Well yeah, I'm just saying that Liverpoo and Arsehole have a much easier draw than us, but Cheatski have a harder one.

I can't find a more toilet-humour based name for Cheatski:(

[Minus The Flair]

Chelsemen?

[Lord Abortion]

Possibly.

Anelka signs for Bolton...He's well on his way to having played for all the clubs in the known world.

[Lord Abortion]

Levadia Tallinn v NEWCASTLE
Molde FK v RANGERS
DERRY CITY v Paris St Germain
Sparta Prague v HEARTS
FC Salzburg v BLACKBURN
WEST HAM v Palermo
TOTTENHAM v Slavia or Dinamo Bucharest

And the UEFA cup is drawn.

[matt_h]

most of the big teams missed in the UEFA cup, great for Derry, should get a lot of money in. The Prague teams will probably offer the hardest challenge.

With the Champions League, I was disappointed to see AC Milan get such an easy group, they should not be in it this year FFS, but the Italian FA bottled it. But as long as all the British teams make it through.

[Endless Obsession]

Well yeah, I'm just saying that Liverpoo and Arsehole have a much easier draw than us, but Cheatski have a harder one.

I can't find a more toilet-humour based name for Cheatski:(

Chelskeet.

LMAO.

My predictions:

Group A: Barcelona, Chelsea
Group B: Bayern Munich, Sporting Lisbon
Group C: Liverpool, PSV
Group D: Valencia, Roma
Group E: Real Madrid, Lyon
Group F: Man U, Benfica
Group G: Arsenal, Porto
Group H: Anderlecht, Milan

[Britney Diva]

DERRY CITY v Paris St Germain
Oh man, I should go to that.

[poorquality]

City have stated that Thatcher is suspended from all first-team action until their own internal investigation is completed.

The FA, though, have also announced that Thatcher will indeed face a charge of serious foul play.

In a statement, The FA revealed they considered the incident serious enough to warrant a separate charge.

"The incident is being considered as an exceptional case because The FA contends that the challenge was sufficiently serious that had Thatcher been sent off, an additional sanction would have been merited," said an FA statement.

Thatcher has until September 12 to respond to the FA charge.

Good, I didn't see the incident until just now (Love sky by broadband), I had been told about it, i figured both went for a header or something... but the ball was on the floor...that was just assault...he should be banned from the game for the rest of the season...and apparently the police may look into it because of the blatent assault.

[Lord Abortion]

Please God let it be us Tevez goes to.

West Ham 1-0 Liverpool :)

[poorquality]

I'm not sure what i'm more shocked by...Watford equalising with Man U (as of now :P)...or Emile Heskey scoring a goal :S

[Cecillianne]

liv 2 whu 1. decent game, agger's goal was a nice one.

[poorquality]

Watford 1-2 Man Utd...that'll do pig...that'll do

Commentators didn't sound happy with Watford tactics :P apparently it was all hoofing the ball upfield...oh well :P our toughest game yet but still a win.


...still in shock about emile scoring a goal :P

[Frankie]

Well looks like were favourite to sign Woodgate on loan. I'm in two minds about him.

[Minus The Flair]

Man City 1 - 0 Aresenal. United are doing so much better than everyone else.

Rio Ferdinand may have a broken toe though, doubt for Euro qualifiers or something. Oh, and United, obviously, which sucks

[Minus The Flair]

I swear Phil Neville has Downs Syndrome

[Drop The Baby]

Once again i can't believe Arsenal failed to win. I think that if City's was a pen then the foul on Fabregas was a pen too.

[matt_h]

with neville, carragher, ferdinand and king out, who will play right-back and centre back for England? Young, P Neville (hell no!!), Dawson and Brown?

[Minus The Flair]

Villa are really on a roll at the moment, O'Neill is doing wonders for them. They're beating Newcastle 2-0 right now.

And United may get Trezeguet, I don't his record in Serie A for Juve but I'd rather get someone else.

[Lord Abortion]

We won, that's all that's required.
We're gonna hammer the Arse at OT.:)

[Minus The Flair]

Boo Chelsea. Blackburn deserved to win.

[Frankie]

Well if they don't get their wingers back in their gonna lose the title this year I can tell you that.

[Minus The Flair]

Well, Keane is official Sunderland manager. Just think, if Sunderland get promoted, Keane will be managing Sunderland AGAINST Man Utd and Sir Alex. Wierd

[Lord Abortion]

Yeah, very.

/looks forward to Sunderland-Wolves:D

[TakeWarning]

Disgraceful performance from Spurs, I hope to God we lift our game from here.

[Minus The Flair]

Well you got United next. And in the form United are in, I dont think so

[Lord Abortion]

And at OT, too. We're gonna thump you:)

[Lord Abortion]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/5289836.stm

*shrugs*

[Britney Diva]

:cry:

[Lord Abortion]

Haven't heard more on Tevez or Trezeguet, but we're tracking a Norwegian guy, Kristoffer Haestad.

[RandyfromPennywise]

Solid win from Chelsea last night. Ballack was unfit but his touch was still there, but I was most impressed with his timing of his jumps for headers. Might sound like a stupid thing, but he is an excellent header of the ball, not just in attack either, his defensive and 50/50 headers in the middle of the park were excellent. He'll add an extra aerial dimension to us. Essien is really coming along, he's been immense in every game this season so far, hope he keeps this form up. Bridge was again good. But we could really do with someone like Damien Duff in our squad.... I should probably let it go really...

I have a feeling JT won't play for England because of his groin problem, could be wrong but if he doesn't play Engerlund could be well short.

Man United should sign Trezeguet, that's be a good signing, Trez and Saha up front with Rooney and Ronaldo roaming behind is a pretty potent strike-force, but it would be hard to accommodate all four, maybe it could be done if you had Carrick and one other (Hargreaves?) sitting deeper in the middle. It'd be a 4-2-4 Brazil-style formation, would have the potential to be awesome.

A-League started this week, Melbourne beat Adelaide for the first time ever 2-0. Disappointing from United really, hope things get better when Petta comes in and Rech is fully fit. The Brazilians for Victory looked well good.

[Irons_rock]

Once again i can't believe Arsenal failed to win. I think that if City's was a pen then the foul on Fabregas was a pen too.
Arsenal dominated the game and should of won.
Theo walcott looked good though.

[Lord Abortion]

Or we could just leave out Saha. That'd be a better idea.

[RandyfromPennywise]

Or we could just leave out Saha. That'd be a better idea.
... in-form striker of the league right now......

[Lord Abortion]

... in-form striker of the league right now......
Bobby Zamora?

[Frankie]

Saha is on equal goals. Not long till boro kick off I just hope to god we can beat pompy.

[poorquality]

On current united form I wouldn't drop Saha for anyone right now. He brings so much more to the team than Ruud did, pace, ability in the air, strength and he can shoot accurately from outside the penalty area :P

I'm fine with Rooney n Saha upfront, I mean...5-1 can't be wrong really, and what else I've noticed with the current united team is, when we attack we don't have 2 strikers anymore, we have 5...against Fulham whenever we attacked we had Ronaldo, Scholes, Giggs, Saha and Rooney all taking up striking/attacking roles...it's what we needed last season, this time we have it, and I think its partially down to Ruud leaving.

[Minus The Flair]

We have a lot more freedom with Saha aswell.

[Minus The Flair]

3-0. ohhhh burn. i dont think ill ever get how you can beat the big teams and lose against the much much easier teams. at home

[poorquality]

3-0. ohhhh burn. i dont think ill ever get how you can beat the big teams and lose against the much much easier teams. at home


To be fair though, you just summed up uniteds season last season, beat the big teams, draw/lose to the lesser teams :( Not this time..it's our time :P

Bad news for Boro though :( Wanted them to win, I like them, they beat Chelsea..good lads :P



still can't believe heskey got a goal :P

[Minus The Flair]

I don't think I've let it sink in either. I don't really want to.

edit: i think this means kanu is leading goalscorer now.

[Lord Abortion]

Yeah, he has 4.

N-Wank-wo
Pompey look good under Redknapp

[Minus The Flair]

Much much much better than their old manager. Every time he took an interview i got pissed off with him because he didn't seem to know what he was talking about. Foreigners...

4-0 though. Slaughtered by Portsmouth at home just after beating Chelsea 2-1. I don't get it

[Frankie]

Neither do us boro supportters but its understandable. We were up for it against Chelsea we got at them, and last night we were simply abismal. I hope we get Woodgate and a Right Winger before the transfer window closes.

[Britney Diva]

I hear Owen Hargreaves is for sale. :downs:

[matt_h]

I hear Owen Hargreaves is not for sale.

Bayern wont sell him, and OH's agent has said it is not going to happen.

[Britney Diva]

Yay!!

[TakeWarning]

Hey Randy, don't you think it's kinda tacky that the A-League has brought in Brazillians to boost the image?

I mean, it sounds to me like they were sitting around the table thinking of ways to improve the A-League and when they couldn't come up with any good ones someone says "Ooh, I know how we can make the A-League look better! Brazillians are really good at soccer, let's ship some of them in!"

[Lord Abortion]

Eh, I hope we can use some of that Hargreaves money for another midfielder and Tevez.

[RandyfromPennywise]

Hey Randy, don't you think it's kinda tacky that the A-League has brought in Brazillians to boost the image?

I mean, it sounds to me like they were sitting around the table thinking of ways to improve the A-League and when they couldn't come up with any good ones someone says "Ooh, I know how we can make the A-League look better! Brazillians are really good at soccer, let's ship some of them in!"
Nah not really, I mean Ernie Merick and his scouts in Brazil spotted some affordable talent and brought three players over. I think there should be more of it - my brother has spent many months in Brazil and says that the country is just dripping with talent, but we all know that right... And the wages in second div and lower first div aren't that high either. Alessandro looked awesome on Friday. The more Brazilians the better, I say.

And no, Zamora is crap, one awful scuffed heeled shot, one cross that went in and yeah, he's not that good... Saha is better and also in better form.

Pompey for mid-table?

[Dead Star]

You pinched my beloved Terry Butcher too :(

Damn Sydney FC.

Also http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/5290454.stm

[Frankie]

Well this is perfect for wayne bridge to nick Cole's place innit ?

[poorquality]

Newcastle got Rossi on loan from United until January...Ferguson says it was a tough decision considering we don't have enough strikers.....hm...why give him out then...bah...sure the first team football will do him good, but still the team comes first.

[poorquality]

It's a very odd decision. Solskjaer's coming off an injury that could have ended his career. Saha has had injury problems ever since he joined United, and they're very short on strikers now. I almost think that there's going to be a deal announced about a striker joining tomorrow, since otherwise I can't see why Ferguson would be happy with only having Saha, Rooney and Solskjaer as first team strikers available for selection.


Well Smiths available now too...fergie wants him to be a striker too. But he's recovering, Sahas injury prone as you said, solskjaer is too...we could have problems.

Tomorrow is last day for transfers ain't it...

[RandyfromPennywise]

Well this is perfect for wayne bridge to nick Cole's place innit ?
Here's hoping. Bridge is class.

Gudjohnsen scored the winner for Barça against Celta Vigo in the 88th minute on his La Liga debut. GUDDY! Fair volley too. Hope he does really well for them, except in two games in October..... Barça looked much better in the second half (1-0 to Celta at HT, 2-3 to Barça FT), Deco was spraying passes everywhere, but they really, really miss Ronaldinho. Without him they are very good, with him they are near-on unbeatable.

The Australia squad to play Kuwait next week is pretty strong, Schwarzer, Chipperfield, Culina and the like. Looking forward to it.

On a side note, is anyone else impressed with the quality of transfers in to the Premier League this year? There have been a few losses but the ins have been very good:

Kuyt, Martins, Shevchenko, Ballack, Rosický, Berbatov, Landzaat, Woodgate, Fernandes (Pompey), Isaksson, Trabelsi, Anelka and Andy Johnson are back, and Benny McCarthy...

I think the EPL will be even better quality this year.

Oh yeah, **** off Ben Thatcher you ****ing scummy cunt.

[TakeWarning]

Andy Johnson is great to watch, I'm glad he's back in the EPL where he belongs.

[Lord Abortion]

Yeah, he's a proper Centre Forward.
Rossi going out on loan is a wierd one, Well, if we don't bring in anyone, then Solskjaer and Saha crock themselves, and Rooney gets banned, then we can say we told you so. Not that that will make us feel any better.

[Lord Abortion]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_ham_utd/5301068.stm

:eek:


That's surely a joke?

[morrissey]

That's hilarious, I figured West Ham was a comedy option added to flesh out article lengths. It seemed a given that either Man United or Arsenal would land Tevez.

[Lord Abortion]

It's only on loan, that's a point, I suppose.
It's bizzare though, I mean, West Ham?! You would have thought they would want to play European football at least.

To be honest, I would rather United just left it rather than buying, say Trezeguet, as he's not really any step up from Saha, and paying £10m+ is a waste of money.

[Lord Abortion]

Hey, and look on the massively positive side.
Neither of them went to Arsenal. Thank Goodness for small mercies.:D

[RandyfromPennywise]

Apparently Inter have proposed a swap-deal for Ronaldo involving Adriano. Why on Earth would they want Ronaldo ahead of Adriano??? Anyway, if it happens, Real v Barça is going to be one hell of a battle for the Spanish league this season. What a squad Real have already, adding Adri to that would be crazy.

Casillas
Salgado/Cicinho Cannavaro Ramos Carlos
Beckham Emerson Diarra/Guti
Adriano Raúl van Nistelrooij.

Decent + Robinho, Reyes and the like...

Barça:

Valdes
Zambrotta Puyol Márquez van Bronckhorst
Xavi Deco
Messi
Guily/Gudjohnsen Eto'o Ronaldinho.

With Motta, Belletti, Edmílson, Thuram, Iniesta & Saviola on the bench.

Vamos La Liga! Prem and La Liga have surged ahead of Italy this summer.

[Lord Abortion]

Malbranque goes to Spurs, with Wayne Routledge going to Fulham.

Sorin has gone to Hamburg from Villereal

[Frankie]

It's only on loan, that's a point, I suppose.
It's bizzare though, I mean, West Ham?! You would have thought they would want to play European football at least.

To be honest, I would rather United just left it rather than buying, say Trezeguet, as he's not really any step up from Saha, and paying £10m+ is a waste of money.

West Ham are in the UEFA cup.

[Lord Abortion]

West Ham are in the UEFA cup.
I meant proper European football.

[Frankie]

Oic

[Ganondorf]

Apparently Inter have proposed a swap-deal for Ronaldo involving Adriano. Why on Earth would they want Ronaldo ahead of Adriano??? Anyway, if it happens, Real v Barça is going to be one hell of a battle for the Spanish league this season. What a squad Real have already, adding Adri to that would be crazy.

Casillas
Salgado/Cicinho Cannavaro Ramos Carlos
Beckham Emerson Diarra/Guti
Adriano Raúl van Nistelrooij.

Decent + Robinho, Reyes and the like...

Barça:

Valdes
Zambrotta Puyol Márquez van Bronckhorst
Xavi Deco
Messi
Guily/Gudjohnsen Eto'o Ronaldinho.

With Motta, Belletti, Edmílson, Thuram, Iniesta & Saviola on the bench.

Vamos La Liga! Prem and La Liga have surged ahead of Italy this summer.

I thought Carlos went to Fernebache?

[Lord Abortion]

Wow, apparently both Tevez and Mascherano signed permanently for undisclosed fees.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_ham_utd/5301068.stm

I keep waiting for it to be revealed it's all a joke, I really can't believe this one, probably the most amazing signings in the history of the Premiership, What's next, Torres to Wigan?!
There's something not right here, I mean, it's obvious that this company, MSI are going to take over West Ham and these two are a downpayment, as they are owned by MSI, either that or they turn up in London and realise that they signed for the wrong United.
There's no other way that West Ham could have come up with the £30m that they are worth, not a chance in hell unless there's something not right going on there.

Once again, world class players are available that fill precisely the two positions United need, and Fergie sits there doing nothing, or trying to sign Owen Hargreaves.
For shame.

[ZaaR]

Barça:

Valdes
Zambrotta Puyol Márquez van Bronckhorst
Xavi Deco
Messi
Guily/Gudjohnsen Eto'o Ronaldinho.

With Motta, Belletti, Edmílson, Thuram, Iniesta & Saviola on the bench.

don't barca also have emmerson?

[Lord Abortion]

don't barca also have emmerson?
No, he signed for Real.

[Minus The Flair]

I've been away for a couple days and to come back and see 'the next Maradona' sign for West Ham!? That's insane! Out of all the clubs he could of gone to... I don't get it. How much money do West Ham have?

[RandyfromPennywise]

I thought Carlos went to Fernebache?
Nah he's still at Real.

I'll give you the low-down on Tévez - he's a massive hog. They'll both be bery good for West Ham but don't expect 30 goals from Tévez and Mascherano to be in the team of the season this year. Something doesn't quite seem right about this.

Dwight Yorke's leaving Sydney and the A-League to join Sunderland. I hope Sydney get a new marquee signing.

[morrissey]

What's next, Torres to Wigan?!
they turn up in London and realise that they signed for the wrong United.

:lol:.

And to top it off I read "Pompey Clinch Cole Transfer" and though we had another wtf move on our hands (if it were the case they'd be liquidating Arsenal's defense corps, I guess).

I still don't think it will improve West Ham's overall position much at least for this year.

[Ganondorf]

Alot of people think Abramovich is linked in with the Argentina/West Ham deal somehow.

[Frankie]

Nah summat's up with this MSI deal.

[Ganondorf]

Everyone knows Abramovich is the higher power :p

[DonMancini]

I just saw this on fox sports world..

TEVEZ AND MASCHERANO TO WEST HAM?!

Whoa.

[morrissey]

So I guess the Cole deal is official? Gallas and 5 million pounds to Arsenal for Cole.

[Lord Abortion]

Yeah, that's that, and Robert Huth's deal to go to Boro fell through.

[RCVA]

I heard that Huth went to Boro for 6million

[Lord Abortion]

Yeah, that's what it said this morning, then I want back to sleep, woke up, and they said it had gone through.
Apparently they didn't know whether he was going to go or not because of Gallas.

And it's pretty much certain that Tevez and Mascherano will be sold on next summer, so it may as well be on a loan.

[matt_h]

MSI practically own Corinthians, and tried to takeover WHU. I heard something about them owning the players, not Corinthians. Something is screwed up here, and I hope West Ham dont end up with problems.

Chelsea have got Cole a bit cheap, The Times said Gallas cost £9m and Cole £14, Cole is worth £20m easily.

And Ferdinand is definetely out of the Andorra match, and looks like the bad Neville is playing rightback with Dawson or Brown in the middle. But I suppose it wont matter too much considering how many goals Andorra have scored and conceded in Qualifying (13 vs 116 I think!)

[poorquality]

MSI practically own Corinthians, and tried to takeover WHU. I heard something about them owning the players, not Corinthians. Something is screwed up here, and I hope West Ham dont end up with problems.


MSI bought Corinthians after giving them the same two players who've just gone to west ham, Corinthians paid 20 mil for them, and MSI bought Corinthians.

Now I think MSI are planning/already have (to) buy/bought West Ham...they failed last time they tried, but it seems fair to consider this judging on the past transfers and the previous attempt by MSI who do infact own the players pretty much.

[matt_h]

There is also a lot of confidentiality agreements in the deal, so there must be some secrets.

[Kyle]

Those West Ham signings are crazy.

Newcastle got sibierski (omg, why?), and Bernard back from Rangers. Not exactly the signings we were after Glenn, but at least Bernard can come back in to replace the disasterous Babayaro. Oh yeah and Rossi, forgot about him, at least we have more depth now I guess.

[Frankie]

As soon as Rossi hits any form......he'll be back at Man Utd :lol:. Good bit of business by Freddie Shepherd then eh :thumb:

[ChodaBoy]

Newcastle got sibierski (omg, why?)
Haha, I know. I :lol:'ed at that, and its worse since they paid for him!

[matt_h]

Desperation signings. Sibierski will play a few crap games then get dropped and sold in January.

[RandyfromPennywise]

Worst piece of business Chelsea have done in many years. I mean that. Selling one of the world's best and most versatile defenders to Arsenal is a terrible decision. Billy and Senderos will form a ferocious partnership. All this for a player who plays in a position we already had covered.

****ing disgrace.

[skateMASTERbater2]

That's a horrible transfer for Chelsea, Arsenal definetly beeing on the winning side of it.
I somewhat understand Tevez's(if it was his decision) decision to go to WEst Ham. He'll get much more playing time and 'll have the chance to establish himself as one of the best strikers in the Premier League

[munky_magik]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_ham_utd/5305724.stm

[poorquality]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_ham_utd/5306356.stm

I like being right :P..they say it had nothing to do with the transfers...but I refuse to believe that, it's all too coincidental considering the companies history.

They say they don't want european clubs...but I don't believe that either...

[Lord Abortion]

Yeah, "the possible takeover has nothing to do with the signings" my left testicle!

[TakeWarning]

Wow, I don't think anyone saw those West Ham signings coming.

I'm pretty glad about it though, it'll be good to watch Tevez and Mascherano, I like them both alot.

[Britney Diva]

Worst piece of business Chelsea have done in many years. I mean that. Selling one of the world's best and most versatile defenders to Arsenal is a terrible decision. Billy and Senderos will form a ferocious partnership. All this for a player who plays in a position we already had covered.

****ing disgrace.
Gallas is a bad player, he's not worth the two sendings-off a season either.

That Tevez business is insane.

[matt_h]

Did you hear that Gallas demanded £100k a week?! He is not worth that, although no footballer should be. Anyway, he is good but not that good. So will he play with Toure or Senderos, or will he play at LeftBack?

How do people think the internationals will go today? I hope England will thrash Andorra. We failed to thrash minnows like Azjerbakazan (sp?) under Sven but I think it will be different now, although Defoe needs to start scoring. Hopefully, Crouch will be able to take away a lot of the defenders, leaving Defoe with more room. I hope Johnson comes on for his proper debut (playing right-mid under Sven doesnt count) and I would prefer Dawson to start but I am biased...

[Britney Diva]

I think England will be a lot better sans Erik and Becks, but I wouldn't get too excited. McLaren's been there for a long time but he's going to need time to mould the team into his own image and results may not go the way you hope in the meantime.

I'm not too excited for Ireland either. The good news is that we have a new manager, the bad news is we were thrashed 4-0 by Holland at home two weeks ago. I know we had only two first team players and that it was no secret our reserves were weak, but it was still a shock.

I think we're outsiders for second place against the Czechs (who are, thankfully, in a similar position to us- lots of retirements and a weak second string) and the Germans because we have a lot of strength in our first eleven, especially if Keane continues his run of last season. Also, unlike this time last year, we have an almost full squad of players who are getting 90 minutes at top clubs.

[Lord Abortion]

I really hope Wes Brown gets the chance for England he truly deserves.
Quality, quality defender.

[matt_h]

I never thought of him as a quality, quality defender, he is good but he is playing rightback for Man U atm, although it is quite difficult to break into the centerback partnership I think, is it Rio and Silvestre? Too injury prone as well, which is a reason I dont want to see Woodgate in the squad when he starts playing for Boro, as you do need to keep a constant squad more or less, although I do want to see them all playing and think that Woodgate at his best is better than Dawson, Brown and possibly even King

[Britney Diva]

I thought you said West Brom for a second there and I was like wtf

Wes Brown has always been an England class defender in my mind but he's had the worst luck with injuries, meaning he's never really been able to hit top form consistently and been written off as a result. One has only to look at his first two seasons in the Utd first team to see how advanced he was at such a young age.

[Lord Abortion]

Yeah, he broke into the team at age 19, Fergie has always maintained that he's the best natural defender in the country.
He's overtaken Silvestre...he's been playing alongside Rio every game this season.

[matt_h]

Oh, I thought he had been playing rightback in place of Neville. Anyway, the best is probably yet to come from Brown, provided he doesnt get badly injured again.

[Lord Abortion]

He may have done for the first two games, but O'Shea was at RB for the Watford game, with Silvestre at LB.

[munky_magik]

Latest scores:
Scotland 5-0 Faroe Islands


:D


...I've got something in my eye <_<



1547: It is half-time at Celtic and the goals and the statistics are stacked up against the Faroe Islands.

Scotland are five goals ahead and the crowd at Celtic Park outnumbers the 46,000 population of the Faroe Islands.

:cool:

[Britney Diva]

:cool:

Northern Ireland are being embarrassed again. They were talking about making Windsor Park a "fortress" before the game. Ha!

[munky_magik]

Apparently they've been offered £1m if they qualify. Seems like a safe bet :p

FULL-TIME Scotland 6-0 Faroe Islands :cool:

[Lord Abortion]

3-0 England at Half time.

Easy.

[matt_h]

5-0 Result. Easy, but good for confidence.
Strikers were both good, though I thought it wouldnt be Defoe's day after two misses. At one point I though him and Crouch could get hat-tricks.
Midfield worked well again, Gerrard took a well taken goal and Hargreaves was unlucky not to score. Disappointed with Downing, didnt take on anyone, unlike Lennon and Richardson. Pity Johnson didnt get any service. Overall, it is Andorra but it gives you confidence and hopefully we can win just as easily now in Macedonia.

[Lord Abortion]

I would prefer to see Richardson above Downing, who hasn't impressed me at all.
Hargreaves MOTM for me too.

[RCVA]

Downing played too many hopeless passes for me.

I can't believe people are suggesting maybe playing him ahead of Joe Cole. Commentators are unbelievable. It's funny how they were hating on Hargreaves a few months ago but now they're talking about how great his record is with Bayern.


John Motson pisses the hell out of me.

[Britney Diva]

Tell you what, Germany don't look like the third best team in the world right now. Granted, we haven't looked good at all, but we could just as easy win this one as lose.

[Frankie]

Downing had one bad game and you all jump on him bloody typical. Or are you all forgetting his three assissts against Greece.

[Lord Abortion]

We're not Jumping on him per se, I just think that he's had his chance to do something, and I think Richardson should be given a similar chance.

I don't recall Downing scoring twice on his Debut...

[Frankie]

Hes started 2 games and thats it. TBH I thought Downing had a poor game today anyways. When J.Cole gets fit again he'll no doubt be played on the left.

[RCVA]

Downing had one bad game and you all jump on him bloody typical. Or are you all forgetting his three assissts against Greece.
No i think he's a good player. I just don't think he's better than Joe Cole at the moment.

[Frankie]

^ Agreed.

[Ganondorf]

But Joe Cole and Gerrard on the flanks means we have no ''real'' width, they both come inside.

[RCVA]

Yeah. It is a problem.

Though Ashley Cole pushes forwards a lot so we always have someone on the left.

[TakeWarning]

If anything, I think Ashley Cole pushes forward too much.

It's not too noticable when Downing is playing on the left, but when Joe Cole and Ashley Cole play together they always seem to get in each other's way.

[Lord Abortion]

And Med was entirely right, David Gill has said United weren't interested in either Mascherano and Tevez.

One thing I heard was The Corinthians manager saying "You know why they're going to West Ham? because they're the only club that would take them."
I think the MSI involvement was putting alot of clubs off buying them

[Frankie]

It sounds off-putting signing them.

[morrissey]

I don't think Man United wasn't interested in the players, they just weren't interested in the ridiculous transfer fee, then the strings involved. Same with Portsmouth, who could have used the two as much as anyone.

A clearer picture of the transfer deal that brought the Argentinians to Upton Park has also emerged this weekend, with disclosures that West Ham did not pay a penny for the players and will pay only half their wages, and that Portsmouth had previously turned down a deal for Tevez and Mascherano because of the stringent contractual demands associated with it.



Both contracts contain a clause that permits MSI to sell Tevez and Mascherano to another club next year with West Ham receiving no share of the transfer fees.

For as long as the pair remain at Upton Park, the Hammers will pick up half of their salaries, the relatively modest sums of £1.5m for Tevez and £1m for Mascherano. However, the club is also contractually obliged to start each in the first team whenever they are fit to play. A buyout clause does allow West Ham to assume “normal” control over the players, but for a prohibitively high payment of about £60m.

While West Ham officially trumpeted Thursday’s acquisitions as “a massive coup for the Hammers, who have beaten off some of Europe’s biggest clubs to secure the services of the duo”, the reality of the deal was rather different. MSI’s original intention had been to use the World Cup to maximise its profit on the striker and midfielder, bought for Corinthians from Argentine football for about $35m two years previously. Unfortunately, first Chelsea — after a whistlestop scouting trip by Jose Mourinho — and then Manchester United, Sevilla, AS Roma and Arsenal refused to meet the asking price. By the early hours of Thursday morning, MSI had been reduced to offering what amounted to glorified loan deals to Portsmouth and West Ham until Pompey balked at the stringent terms.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,277-2340557,00.html

[Lord Abortion]

Yeah, that's what I read.
We're Man United ffs. We're not going to be pissed around by some company controlling our players!

[RandyfromPennywise]

Gallas is a bad player, he's not worth the two sendings-off a season either.

No you are wrong. He is one of the most solid defenders in England. I've watched him play about 35 games a year for the last five years and can safely say that he is easily one of the best defenders going around at the moment and Arsenal have pulled off a great deal by getting him plus money while getting rid of a player that wanted to leave. Gallas is the most versatile top-line defender going around and his performances under Mourinho show that. He was part of the defence that set the new record for time without conceding at centre-back, performed expertly at right-back and yet he played predominantely as a left-back.

He does have a penchant for getting way too fired up and does get sent off once a year but he also scores his share of goals as a defender and is easily Arsenal's best defender now. I don't know why you would call him a "bad" player, he is extremely consistent and rarely - if ever - has brain explosions at the back and stuffs up, leading to a goal. His pace is also a major positive to his game.

[Lord Abortion]

I can't like Gallas, he's gone from Chelsea to Arsenal...what is there to like?

[RandyfromPennywise]

I can't like Gallas, he's gone from Chelsea to Arsenal...what is there to like?
Yeah, my five years of liking him are well and truly over.

So I reckon that the last day of this transfer window was the craziest I have seen since following Football. A lot of clubs did very well on the final day - Hammers, Boro, Arsenal. DaMarcus Beasley is a good get for Citeh and I think Pompey have done some great pieces of business. More quality in to the Prem.

[TakeWarning]

Beasley was good in the World Cup, Pompey are really spending some big bucks lately.

[matt_h]

Downing had one bad game and you all jump on him bloody typical. Or are you all forgetting his three assissts against Greece.
I dont think he had a bad game, but he just didnt impress me enough to get infront of Joe Cole, he just lacks the acceleration to beat people. He is a fine squad player and can play well for Boro against most oppositions, I just prefer Richardson at this level.

And it looks like the West Ham stuff is begining to be leaked... wouldnt be suprised if they get screwed at some point. And FIFA or UEFA are getting concerned about foreign investors.

[Minus The Flair]

I wish football went back to the way it used to be. With Man U winning all titles, no russian billionares and no 35 million transfer fees.

[matt_h]

I wish football went back to the way it used to be. With Forest winning the league, going unbeaten and winning the European Cup every season, and Managers like Cloughie running the show instead of Chairmen.
Ha, we can dream... :)

[Angry Balled Fists!]

i wish newcastle were good.

[Frankie]

I don't think Downing lacks pace but whatever it doesn't matter.

UEFA want the Government to launch a probe into foreign investors as they feat the Premiership will just become a monoply. Which is weird as for the last 30 years theres been a pattern of one team being dominant for a while, then the other cathcing up. I happend with liverpool in the 80's, Man Utd in the 90's and Chelski are doing it now. Although this season is going to be very intresting as the title race looks to be fairly open. Even the battle for relegation looks a tough one to predict this season.

[Minus The Flair]

Well I'd play Richardson just to see his incredible goals.

[ChodaBoy]

There does need to be some kind of control as to who can invest in clubs, we dont want to end up in the condition American football is in - where the owners typically piss off the fans with their money-raking decisions.

[Lord Abortion]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/5314292.stm

This is why Gallas left Chelsea then...

[matt_h]

Pathetic, grown men crying like little boys just cause they cant get paid another £10k a week more than most people make in a year.

[RandyfromPennywise]

Disgraceful situation all around really, in'it. Bloody Arsenal scum.

[Minus The Flair]

Rdiculous. If true, Gallas should stop and take a quick look at the average persons salary. Greedy ****er. But I think it's probably much more complicated than that. Mouriniho seems like he would be one of the hardest managers in the Premiership to get on with well. Mr Hugh Jeego

[Frankie]

Disgraceful situation all around really, in'it. Bloody Arsenal scum.

haha only a few pages back you were praising him. But yeah what a greedy bast'ard

[matt_h]

Name a Premiership footballer that isnt a greedy bastard.

Actually, Dave Kitson (Reading) was on SoccerAM the other week and he said he turned down playing for Rep of Ireland as he didnt think it was morally right and all that. Not exactly a money issue, but that is 1 non-greedy bastard.

[Britney Diva]

That's a refreshingly frank statement from Chelsea. I wish more teams would call out greedy players like that.

[ChodaBoy]

I cant believe that players get paid for playing for their country. It should be an honour to do it

[TakeWarning]

I cant believe that players get paid for playing for their country. It should be an honour to do it

I guess the money is an added incentive.

[RandyfromPennywise]

haha only a few pages back you were praising him.
Haha maybe I should have put a :p after that. ¡Sarcasm!

[Lord Abortion]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_ham_utd/5314600.stm

What a load of crap that lad spouts.

"Ferguson doesn't have any belief in Argentinian players" my arse.
Veron was perfectly fairly treated at United, and he started pretty much every game he was fit to, and he still played crap for the most part.
Look at Heinze, horrible injury last season, and Fergie stood by him and let him do things like recover from his surgey in Spain where he felt more comfortable.
Not alot of managers would do that, and it's really ****ing ungrateful of Veron to say otherwise.

[ChodaBoy]

Veron just couldnt handle it, he was a complete flop. £25m for him at United, then £13~ at Chelsea, and was abysmal there too.

[TakeWarning]

Veron was good for about three games and after that he just sucked.

But I dare say there have been worse investments.

[RandyfromPennywise]

Veron just couldnt handle it, he was a complete flop. £25m for him at United, then £13~ at Chelsea, and was abysmal there too.
Let's get a little of this in context. Verón has not said anything publicly and what he actually said may have been nothing as harsh as "Fergie hates Argies and he gave me a tough time". He probably said things along the lines of the supporters are skeptical of foreigners, particularly Argentines, in England (which is blatantly true) and that you have to pull your weight with Fergie and do as he says otherwise your in the crap (which is true). Anyway, that was more in response to Lord, but to ChodaBoy - Verón played very few games for Chelsea. I hardly think that is enough evidence to say he was "abysmal". In fact two of his starts were blinding performances against Lazio and Newcastle. I think he could have flourished in a 4-3-3 system but he never had the chance.

[Lord Abortion]

I really like Veron as a player, I'm just saying that if he has said something like that it's rather unfair.

I just took offence at the way Mascherano put it; "Veron said not to go there, Heinze is there, but Veron has different stories."

That's Gabriel "United cult hero and 04/05 Fans player of the year" Heinze then...I see alot of scepticism in those votes there.

[Minus The Flair]

Thatcher officially gets a fine and misses 6 matches. That's BUUUUUUULSHIIIIIT. The FA should of banned him for much much much much much much longer. People shouldn't get away with this

[Gorgo]

Pompey fan since 1984. I'm enjoying the new season so far with their new signings and believe a top ten finish. What's your opinions then?

[Minus The Flair]

I think it's a great time to be a Pompey fan. Redknapp has been a godsend for you. And the new signings you've made are really going to boost the club to new heights and yeh, I think a top 10 finish is realistic. Even the last UEFA spot is possible but that's really pushing it.

Hope we slaughter Macedonia tonight

[Britney Diva]

I doubt you'll slaughter them, but I should think anything but a win would be disastrous.

[Minus The Flair]

Well, they're a team that's rated 60 places above us and even with crap opposition, we've been playing well lately. But away, that doesn't count for as much, as they are Macedonia. Hahahaha, Macedonia's corner goal was hilarious. Oh, Seamen.